39th Berlin Marathon
Men's winner Geoffrey Mutai (right) running in Berlin
VenueBerlin, Germany
Dates30 September
Champions
MenGeoffrey Mutai (2:04:15)
WomenAberu Kebede (2:20:30)

The 2012 Berlin Marathon was the 39th edition of the annual marathon event and was held on Sunday 30 September on the streets of Berlin, Germany. An IAAF Gold Label Road Race, it was the third World Marathon Majors event to be held that year. Geoffrey Mutai won the men's race in a time of 2:04:15 hours and Aberu Kebede was the women's winner in 2:20:30. A total of 34,377 people (26472 men, 7905 women) finished the marathon race.[1]

Prior to the race, Mutai was the principal focus of men's competition and the head of an attempt to challenge Patrick Makau's world record set at the 2011 Berlin Marathon. To assist in this challenge, the organisers invited a number of his training partners, among them Dennis Kimetto, who was untested over the distance but a world record holder over 25 km.[2] Other competitors included Geoffrey Kipsang, another marathon debutant, and Jonathan Maiyo (a sub-2:05 runner).[3] Mizuki Noguchi's course record from 2006 was the target for the women's race, with the Ethiopia duo and training partners Aberu Kebede and Tirfi Tsegaye the leading runners.[4]

By the halfway point of the men's race, Mutai, Kimetto, Geoffrey Kipsang and Maiyo were still in contention. Mutai pulled away from the pack, along with Kimetto, after 30 km. Kimetto remained close to the leader put never overtook him, leaving Mutai to take the title (and the World Marathon Majors jackpot) by a margin of second with his winning time of 2:04:15 hours.[5] The times of the Kenyan pair were the fastest recorded that year and the fourth and fifth fastest ever at that point.[6] Despite the fast times of the men's race, some reporters felt the finish to be an anti-climax – both Mutai and Kimetto slowed in the final kilometres and neither pushed the other into a sprint finish, even though they finished one second apart. The Guardian's Ross Tucker remarked that the positions seemed "pre-planned" between the training partners.[7] Geoffrey Kipsang comfortably took third place with a time of 2:06:12 for his debut run. The top nine men were all Kenyan, with Japan's Masakazu Fujiwara rounding out the top ten places.[5]

The women's race was also dominated by two East African training partners. Aberu Kebede (winner in 2010) and Tirfi Tsegaye were unchallenged after the halfway point. In contrast to the men's race, Aberu pulled away on her own and recorded a best of 2:20:30 hours to win (over a minute short of the course record). Runner-up Tirfi also improved her best (2:21:19) and Olena Shurkhno took third place some two minutes later with a Ukrainian record time.[5]

Swiss athletes Marcel Hug and Sandra Graf topped the wheelchair race rankings. The in-line skating competitions were won by Ewen Fernandez and Sabine Berg, respectively.

Results

Elite results

Winner Geoffrey Mutai (left) improved on his runner-up finish in Berlin in 2010.
Elite men
Position Athlete Nationality Time
Geoffrey Mutai Kenya2:04:15 PB[8]
Dennis Kimetto Kenya2:04:16 PB
Geoffrey Kipsang Kenya2:06:12 PB
4Nicholas Kamakya Kenya2:08:28
5Josphat Keiyo Kenya2:08:41
6Josphat Jepkopol Kenya2:08:44
7Jonathan Maiyo Kenya2:09:19
8Eliud Kiptanui Kenya2:09:59
9Felix Keny Kenya2:10:22
10Masakazu Fujiwara Japan2:11:31
Elite women
Women's winner Aberu Kebede in a group at Kilometer 37
Position Athlete Nationality Time
Aberu Kebede Ethiopia2:20:30 PB
Tirfi Tsegaye Ethiopia2:21:19 PB
Olena Shurkhno Ukraine2:23:32 NR
4Flomena Chepchirchir Kenya2:24:56
5Fate Tola Ethiopia2:25:14 PB
6Alevtina Biktimirova Russia2:28:45
7Caroline Chepkwony Kenya2:30:34 PB
8Anna Hahner Germany2:30:37
9Sonia Samuels Great Britain2:30:56 PB
10Degefa Biruktayit Ethiopia2:33:27

Wheelchair

Paralympic gold medallist Heinz Frei was runner-up in the men's wheelchair race.
Men
Position Athlete Nationality Time
Marcel Hug  Switzerland1:29:43
Heinz Frei  Switzerland1:29:48
Rafael Botello Jimenez Spain1:32:54
Women
Position Athlete Nationality Time
Sandra Graf  Switzerland1:46:19
Francesca Porcellato Italy1:56:37
Yvonne Sehmisch Germany2:06:26

In-line skating

Men
Position Athlete Nationality Time
Ewen Fernandez France1:00:04
Bart Swings Belgium1:00:04
Felix Rijhnen Germany1:02:48
Women
Position Athlete Nationality Time
Sabine Berg Germany1:14:13
Jana Gegner Germany1:14:13
Katja Ulbrich Germany1:14:13
4Sofia D'Annibale Italy1:14:13

References

  1. ↑ World's Largest Marathons Archived 2016-10-10 at the Wayback Machine. Association of International Marathons and Distance Races. Retrieved on 2013-01-31.
  2. ↑ Butcher, Pat (2012-09-28). Motivated Mutai targeting World record in Berlin - Preview. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-01-31.
  3. ↑ Geoffrey Mutai to lead fast Berlin Marathon field. IAAF (2012-09-12). Retrieved on 2013-01-31.
  4. ↑ Butcher, Pat (2012-09-27). Kebede and Tsegaye targeting women's course record in Berlin. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-01-31.
  5. 1 2 3 Butcher, Pat (2012-09-30). Close victory for Mutai but more straightforward for Kebede in Berlin - REPORT. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-01-31.
  6. ↑ Marathon - men - senior - outdoor - 2012. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-01-31.
  7. ↑ Tucker, Ross (2012-10-02). Geoffrey Mutai misses world record in an intriguing Berlin Marathon. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2013-01-31.
  8. ↑ This run of 2:04:15 was Mutai's official personal best, albeit slower than the 2:03:02 time he ran at the 2011 Boston Marathon, which was wind-aided on the point-to-point course.
Official results
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