by RBR Admin
Wilson Kipsang leads Eliud Kipchoge, September 2013, photo by Photorun.net
The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON has an incredible cast of real characters who would love to foil Eliud Kipchoge or Tirunesh Dibaba and their dreams of setting a World record on the fast Berlin course. Can anyone stop them, well, we have less than 3 days to wait yet!
News Release – BMW BERLIN-MARATHON on Sunday:
Fast Times and Intense Competition anticipated
with Kipchoge, Kipsang, Dibaba and Cherono to race in Berlin
The latest in the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON’S history of thrilling contests and fast performances is eagerly awaited as the Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge returns to defend his title against the former world record holder Wilson Kipsang on Sunday.
The great Kenyan duo have met on two previous occasions here with the match score currently tied at 1-1. Eliud Kipchoge as last year’s winner is expected to be attacking his personal best of 2:03:05 which would mean running at world record tempo, given that Kipchoge’s best is only eight seconds slower than the current world record. This was set four years ago in Berlin by his fellow Kenyan Dennis Kimetto with his time of 2:02:57. Wilson Kipsang broke the previous world record to win the 2013 Berlin title with 2:03:23, beating Eliud Kipchoge into the bargain
Tirunesh Dibaba, arguably the greatest female distance runner in history, will be making her debut at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. The key factor in her choice of race venue is Berlin’s well proven ability to offer a platform for super-fast performances. If conditions are favourable, the Ethiopian might well attack the world record, set by Britain’s Paula Radcliffe in 2002 with 2:15:25 in London. Dibaba is Ethiopia’s national record holder with 2:17:56 which is a big margin to make up, yet she has the pedigree of three Olympic golds in long distance track events to make any challenge credible. Last year’s women’s champion Gladys Cherono and her fellow Kenyan, the double World Marathon champion Edna Kiplagat, are likely to be Dibaba’s most dangerous rivals
The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is one of the events in the Abbott World Marathon Majors. Berlin marks the start of Series XII which will finish a year from now. Further information about the Abbott World Marathon Majors is available at: www.worldmarathonmajors.com
The top 12 contenders and PBs
MEN
Eliud Kipchoge KEN 2:03:05
Wilson Kipsang KEN 2:03:13
Eliud Kiptanui KEN 2:05:21
Amos Kipruto KEN 2:05:43
Abera Kuma ETH 2:05:50
Arata Fujiwara JPN 2:07:48
Yuki Sato JPN 2:08:58
Daisuke Uekado JPN 2:09:27
Kohei Ogino JPN 2:09:36
Kenta Murayama JPN 2:09:50
Daichi Kamino JPN 2:10:18
Zersenay Tadese ERI 2:10:41
WOMEN
Tirunesh Dibaba ETH 2:17:56
Gladys Cherono KEN 2:19:25
Aselefech Mergia ETH 2:19:31
Edna Kiplagat KEN 2:19:50
Ruti Aga ETH 2:20:41
Mizuki Matsuda JPN 2:22:44
Rei Ohara JPN 2:23:20
Honami Maeda JPN 2:23:48
Andrea Deelstra NED 2:26:46
Inés Melchor PER 2:26:48
Carla Rocha POR 2:27:08
Caterina Ribeiro POR 2:30:10
Race Statistics
44,389 Runners
5,258 Inline Skaters
180 Handbikers
63 Wheelchair athletes
49,890 Marathon entries (total) from 133 nations
Polar is the new Timing Partner for the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
We are welcoming Polar as the new official timing partner. Lars Adloff, Country Manager Polar Deutschland explains: „The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is one of the largest, most well-known and greatest sports events in Germany, with a very strong international radiance. It is therefore the perfect opportunity to showcase our newest range of solutions which consist of an ecosystem of wearables, apps and cloud-services.” Christian Jost, Managing Director of SCC EVENTS, is enthusiastic about the commitment by the innovator of sports technology: “With Polar, the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON gains a trusted performance partner well-known by accuracy, reliability and superior experience. In our view, this is a promising combination. We are looking forward to the cooperation.”
Media schedule
Press Conferences, media office and media centre are situated in the
Hotel InterContinental
Budapester Str. 2, 10787 Berlin
Thursday, 13 September, Press conference
10 am, Inline Skating
Felix Rijhnen, GER Gary Hekman, NED
Followed by (approx. 11 am)
Subject: Elite Women
Present: Tirunesh Dibaba ETH, Edna Kiplagat KEN, Gladys Cherono KEN
Thursday, 13 September, Photo call
Presentation new members Hall of Fame: winners of the first BERLIN-MARATHON 1974 (Jutta von Haase and Günter Hallas)
Hall of Fame, Brandenburg Gate
Friday, 14 September, Press conference
10 am
Elite Wheelchair and Handbiker Competitors: Marcel Hug SUI, Manuela Schär SUI, Tatyana McFadden USA, Vico Merklein GER
11 am
Presentation of the Elite-Running-Team BERLIN
Elite Men: Eliud Kipchoge KEN, Wilson Kipsang KEN, Zersenay Tadese ERI
Friday, September 14, 5:30 pm, Photo call
Start of the Abbott World Marathon Majors Series XII
With: Eliud Kipchoge, Edna Kiplagat (both Kenia), Marcel Hug und Manuela Schär (both Switzerland), Tim Hadzima (AbbottWMM), Gerald Asamoah, Mark Milde
Friday, September 14, 6:30 pm, Photo call
Meet the stars
Presentation of the Elite runners. With: Eliud Kipchoge, Wilson Kipsang, Zersenay Tadese, Tirunesh Dibaba, Edna Kiplagat und Gladys Cherono. In Addition: Presentation of a new Hall of Fame member: Ronaldo Da Costa (Winner 1998 BERLIN-MARATHON and former WR holder). Selected Guinness World Records applicants with costumes will be presented too.
Hall of Fame, Brandenburg Gate
Saturday, September 15, 9.30 am
GENERALI BREAKFAST RUN at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 2018
Approximately 11,000 runners will start at 9:30 am from the Schloss Charlottenburg towards the Olympiastadion.
Saturday, September 15, 3.10 pm
mini-MARATHON for pupils
4.2195 km, Start: Potsdamer Straße, Finish: Straße des 17. Juni
Largest school kids run in Germany 10,000 runners (30th edition)
Saturday, September 15, 3.30 pm
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON Inline Skating
Start: Straße des 17. Juni
Largest Inline Skating marathon in the world
Saturday, September 15, 3.30 pm, Press conference
Winners of the 2018 BMW BERLIN-MARATHON Inline Skating
Sunday, September 16, from 8.45 am
45th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
Various starts
Sunday, September 16, 12.30 pm, Press conference
Winners of the 2018 BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
Running
Wheelchair athletes
Handbikers
Online Media accreditation
Application was possible until 31st August. Please note that in case of a later accreditation we can not make all requests regarding the access areas possible.
The accreditation entitles you to enter certain areas of the event grounds within the framework of your reporting and research at the BERLIN VITAL fair and the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON.Appropriately credentialed media is allowed to attend all press conferences and use the media center’s facilities during operating hours. We provide a comfortable, full-service indoor location including workspace, wifi and power stations. It is fully staffed by SCC EVENTS media representatives. Race-Day services include large-format direct feeds of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON broadcast, real-time race updates, split and finish times printouts and the post-race press conference.
Media Guide Online
The Media Guide of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON contains info and statistics including portraits of elite runners.
About the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors (AWMM), the group of six leading marathons in the world which was founded in 2006. They comprise Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York. The winners and leading finishers at the six AWMM races earn points according to their positions which culminate in an overall men’s and women’s winner at the end of a one-year-cycle.
The prize money for the winners amounts to US$ 250,000 each. Since 2016 the series has also included wheelchair athletes. An age group category for mass runners has now been added with a points system to decide men’s and women’s winners. Series XII begins with the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 2018 and will end with the Berlin race in 2019. Further information about the scoring system for elite and mass competitors can be found at: www.worldmarathonmajors.com
About Polar
For over 40 years, Polar has been the innovator of sports technology, helping athletes and coaches achieve peak performance. Polar began with heart rate monitoring, but has since expanded into multiple training solutions for elite athletes, coaches and active fitness enthusiasts. Polar’s award-winning product range includes pioneering sports wearables that work elegantly with Polar training apps and cloud services. Headquartered in Finland, Polar is a privately held company that operates in more than 80 countries. Polar products are sold through over 35,000 retailers globally. For more information, please visit polar.com.
More information is available online at: www.berlin-marathon.com
