Ethiopia's Assefa suffers late cramps to miss out on world record in Berlin

BERLIN, Sept 27 : Ethiopian Tigst Assefa was firmly on world-record pace before suffering cramps in the final two kilometres to miss out on a world-best run at the Berlin marathon on Sunday.

Assefa, an Olympic silver medallist at the Paris 2024 Games as well as a former world-record holder, still finished first for her third win in Berlin but her blistering pace that had her 20 seconds below world-record time in the 35th kilometre evaporated in the final two kilometres.

Hundreds of thousands of fans had lined the streets of the German capital on a sun-drenched morning to witness Assefa's world record attempt.

She faced no competition from the start, powering clear with her group of pacemakers, and charging through the halfway mark well within world-record time.

Known to finish stronger in the second half of marathons, Assefa initially looked set to shatter Kenya's Ruth Chepngetich's time of 2:09:56 on Berlin's famously flat and quick inner-city course. 

But just as she prepared to enter the final stretch with the finish line just past the Brandenburg Gate in sight, Assefa started struggling to maintain her pace before serious cramps set in, shaving second after second off her lead.

She refused to give up despite slowing down even more in the final few hundred metres, and managed to hobble through the finish line in 2:11:04 before collapsing in disappointment.

Bedatu Hirpa was second and Dera Dida third with the top five finishers all from Ethiopia.

Fellow Ethiopian Guye Adola won the men's race with a time of 2:02:50. Gemechu Dida, also from Ethiopia, bagged second spot with Tanzania's Gabriel Geay in third.