Guye Adola has won the Berlin Marathon for the second time, running a personal best of 2:02:50. It finally improved the time he set on his marathon debut in the same city in 2017, when he finished second to Eliud Kipchoge.
Nine years after announcing himself with a remarkable debut in Berlin, Guye Adola has finally run faster. The Ethiopian won the BMW Berlin Marathon on Sunday, September 27, in a personal best of 2:02:50, World Athletics reported.
It was his second victory in the race, five years after his first in 2021.
A Long Wait for a Personal Best
Adola’s previous best dated from his very first marathon, in Berlin in 2017, when he finished second to Eliud Kipchoge. Sunday’s run took almost a minute off that time.
It also completed what World Athletics called a perfect marathon season. Adola won in Rotterdam in April in 2:03:54.
How the Race Was Won
Unlike the women’s race, which was led from the start, the men’s contest stayed tightly packed for a long time. A large group passed 10km in 28:58, and nine men were still together at halfway, reached in 1:01:01.
The group included Selemon Barega, Gemechu Dida, Andamlak Belihu, Shura Kitata and Getaneh Molla, along with Tanzania’s Gabriel Geay.
It began to stretch approaching 25km. By 30km, reached in 1:26:57, Adola had moved to the front, with Barega, Dida and Geay close behind.
The Decisive Move
Geay lost contact a couple of kilometres later, and Adola then made his break. By 35km he had opened a nine-second lead over Dida, with Barega a further four seconds back.
The gap kept growing, and he was never seriously threatened again.
Results
- Guye Adola (Ethiopia) — 2:02:50
- Gemechu Dida (Ethiopia) — 2:03:19
- Gabriel Geay (Tanzania) — 2:03:59
- Getaneh Molla (Ethiopia) — 2:04:55
Barega, who had been among the leaders until late in the race, finished three seconds behind Molla.
An Ethiopian Double
The win completed a double for Ethiopia and for one training group. Adola’s training partner, Tigst Assefa, won the women’s race in 2:11:04, the third-fastest time in history, despite suffering a partial tear of her Achilles tendon in the closing kilometres.
Image: Guye Adola at the 2025 Berlin Marathon. Photo by Leonhard Lenz via Wikimedia Commons, CC0.