DLV star disappointed
Record spectacle at Berlin’s half marathon
06.04.2025 – 12:41 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
When running across the streets of the main start, several participants set up new records. A German record is also broken.
There were several route records at the Berlin half marathon 2025 on Sunday. In the men, the Ethiopian Memechu Dida dominated the race on the streets of the German capital from the start. Without visible competition and even without Pacemaker, the 25-year-old forced the majority of the route over 21,0975 kilometers alone-and at the end of his record hunts there was still a powerful sprint. In 58:40 minutes he set up a new best time and secured victory. The old record of 58:42 minutes had set up the Kenyan Eric Kiptanui 2018.
The Kenyan Richard Etir took second place behind Dida before Amanal Petros caused a historic German moment. The 29-year-old finished 3rd in 59:29 minutes-new German record. This improved Petros by 38 seconds of his German record (1:00:09) set up in Valencia in Valencia. “The hard work was worth it,” he said. Fourth, the former European Marathon master Richard Ringer became a personal best of 1:00:51 hours.
The route record also fell for women: Didas favored Landsrau Fotyen Tesfay ran over the finish line after 63:35 minutes – and improved the previous record of 65:02 minutes from Sheila Chepkirui from 2022.
The Düsseldorf native Esther Pfeiffer was seventh at the victory of the Ethiopian Fotyen Tesfay Haiylu (1:03:35) with a personal best of 1:09:15 hours. For Gesa Krause, the race among women was somewhat disappointing: the two-time European champion over 3000 meters obstacle, which is flirting with further half marathon runs, took 11th place. “That was a good experience on the long route,” said the 32-year-old.