Sabastian Sawe and Rosemary Wanjiru took elite victories at the 2025 Berlin Marathon on Sunday (21 September).
Helped by a team of pacemakers, Sawe was on world record pace before slowing in the second half in uncomfortably warm temperatures. He took victory in 2:02:16, over a minute outside Eliud Kipchoge’s course record set in 2022.
Defending champion Milkesa Mengesha, the only athlete to stay with Sawe in the first 10km, dropped out with 15km to go. Japan’s Akasaki Akira finished strongly to take second, four minutes off the pace.
Wanjiru had a number of Ethiopian runners for company in the first half of the race, but broke clear of her rivals with 15km to go. The 30-year-old showed dramatically in the final kilometres with Dida Dera closing quickly. But Wanjiru just managed to stay in front, crossing the line 2:21:05, three seconds ahead of the Ethiopian.
Below are the race results for the men’s and women’s elite races at the 2025 Berlin Marathon.