Ethiopian runner Tigst Assefa won this year’s Berlin Marathon but limped to the finish line after rupturing her right Achilles tendon while chasing the world record. Despite severe pain starting at 31 kilometers and a complete rupture by the 40K mark, she still managed the third fastest time ever at 2:11:04. Assefa’s representative said had she stopped earlier, it might have prevented such extensive damage, emphasizing her determination to break the record set by Ruth Chepng'etich in Chicago last year. Assefa will undergo rehabilitation and could begin running again in about seven months.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-29,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
At the Berlin Marathon on Sunday, Ethiopian runner Tigst Assefa won but missed breaking the women's world record due to a leg injury. Assefa was leading comfortably until 40 kilometers when she suffered an Achilles tendon rupture and limped over the finish line in an unofficial time of 2:11:04. Her representative said that continuing despite pain "destroyed" her right Achilles tendon completely. Meanwhile, Guye Adola from Ethiopia won the men's race with a time of 2:02:50, his second victory there after 2021. The event was marred by high temperatures in previous years but ideal conditions this time around.
Written for “Berlin Marathon Results Records” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
Berlin Marathon winner limped to finish line after rupturing Achilles tendon chasing world mark
Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa posted third fastest women's 42.2 km time ever on Sunday
Berlin Marathon winner Tigst Assefa "completely destroyed" her right Achilles tendon trying to regain her world record.
asserted
Assefa → limp → record
Assefa was on well on course to beat Ruth Chepng'etich's world record with two kilometres remaining in Sunday's race when she suddenly began limping with what appeared to be cramps.
asserted
what → beat → race
She grimaced and kept running in visible pain before ultimately finishing 68 seconds behind Chepng'etich's mark of two hours nine minutes 56 seconds from Chicago in 2024.
asserted
She → grimace → 2024
It transpired she Assefa suffered a "complete rupture of the right Achilles tendon," her representative Gianni Demadonna told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
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representative → transpire → Tuesday
Demadonna said the Ethiopian runner had been in pain from the 31st kilometre but decided to continue running before the injury struck at the 40K mark.
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injury → say → mark
"She was no longer able to run, because when she was going to put her foot on the ground she had no power," Demadonna said of the issue at the 40 km mark.
asserted
Demadonna → run → mark
"She completely destroyed the tendon at the end, because running without the tendon — I mean the last 500 metres maybe she ran without the tendon, you know, only with the heel, so that was a disaster because maybe [if] she had stopped, [it] was not so bad, but she ran two kilometres with the problem.
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she → destroy → problem
The 29-year-old Assefa still ran the third fastest time ever in 2:11:04.
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Assefa → run → 2:11:04
It's her third victory in Berlin after 2022 and 2023, but she had been pushing for another world record after her record time of 2:11:53 in 2023.
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she → push → 2023
Chepng'etich lowered that mark by nearly two minutes the following year but was banned for three years in 2025 after admitting a doping violation.
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Chepng'etich → lower → violation
The Kenyan runner's record still stands.
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record → stand → ?
Assefa was on course to smash Chepng'etich's record on Sunday.
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Assefa → smash → Sunday
"She was on to run 2:09:30, 2:09:40, so that was the goal, and she still had eight minutes [to run] the last 2.2 kilometers.
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she → run → kilometers
That is amazing," Demadonna said.
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Demadonna → say → ?
In 2023, Assefa shatters women's world record by over 2 minutes in Berlin
Ruth Chepng'etich smashes women's marathon world record in 2025
Assefa collapsed after crossing the line and was attended to by a medic as well as compatriot and marathon great Haile Gebrselassie, among others.
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Assefa → shatter → others
She skipped the post-race formalities and was flown to Munich before undergoing what Demadonna called "very complex surgery" on her ankle on Monday at a hospital in Murnau, a town near the Austrian border southwest of Munich.
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Demadonna → skip → Munich
Demadonna, who was on his way back home to Italy after leaving Assefa in the hospital, said she will see another doctor in Munich on Thursday to see how the surgery went and to start her rehabilitation.
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surgery → leave → rehabilitation
He said she will need to use crutches for around six weeks by which time she will have started exercises for movement of the tendon.
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she → say → tendon
"After starting walking and bicycle, maybe [she can] start running in three months, so I think seven months to compete in another marathon, maybe London Marathon 2027 at the end of April, but difficult to say now," Demadonna said.
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Demadonna → start → April
"We have to stay patient and see what the doctor will say."
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doctor → have → what
He added that Assefa "is very sad, but what can we do?
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we → add → what
She knows that it's a long way to recover but the doctor said, ‘Don't worry, you can recover.'
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you → know → ?
So we will see."
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we → see → ?
The Aporia
