ATHLETICS: Assefa challenges women’s world marathon record in Berlin, but a late injury causes her to miss it; she still wins in 2:11:04!

Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa competed at the Berlin Marathon on Sunday with the goal of breaking Ruth Chepngetich's women's world marathon record of 2:09:56, set in 2024. Assefa, a 2024 Olympic silver medalist and former world record holder, made a remarkable mid-race surge to match Chepngetich's pace at 35 km but suffered a late injury that prevented her from breaking the record. She still won the race in 2:11:04, the third-fastest women's marathon time in history.