Gete Wami and Haile Gebrselasie hope to again wear the laurel wreath at Sunday

For the first time in five years both of last year’s winners at the real,- Berlin Marathon will defend their titles. In 2002, Naoko Takahashi repeated her victory, while defending champion Joseph Ngolepus (Kenya) did not play a major role in the men’s race. This should not be the case this year, because the title holder is Haile Gebrselassie. Both the Ethiopian, who has set 23 world records, as well as his compatriot Gete Wami ran personal bests last year at Berlin (2:05:56 hours and 2:21:34, respectively). For both these were also Ethiopian records. Both, however, are not satisfied yet. On the Berlin course, which is known to be fast, they want to further improve.

Just more than 40,215 runners from 115 nations will join them in Sunday’s race. Gebrselassie has pursued one goal for years: he wants to break the marathon world record of 2:04:55, which Paul Tergat set four years ago in Berlin. Last year, he missed it by 61 seconds, which is the closest anyone has come to the world record since 2003. But Gebrselassie, who realized last year that the course and the atmosphere in Berlin offer him ideal conditions for breaking the world record, is thinking of significantly faster times. He believes a result between 2:03 and 2:04 seems possible. “You always have to set high goals,” Gebrselassie says.

In Berlin, however, he will face tough opposition. Among his rivals is Philip Manyim (Kenya), who won in Berlin in 2005 with 2:07:41. “I am in fine form and hope to break my personal best,” says Philip Manyim. And Bernard Barmasai should not be forgotten. The Kenyan former 3,000m steeplechase runner was the world record holder at this distance for a while. His marathon best is 2:08:50.

While Gebrselassie is chasing the world record, Wami is pursuing another goal: she wants to take the lead in the World Marathon Majors (WMM) series. Last year the most significant marathon races of the world—the Boston Marathon, the Flora London Marathon, the real,- Berlin Marathon, the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon and the ING New York City Marathon—joined to form the WMM. In a two-year series, the world’s best marathon runners collect points. The best male and best female runner then share a jackpot of $1 million at the end of the series. The first series ends this year on November 4 at the ING New York City Marathon. If Wami wins in Berlin, she will take over the WMM series lead. If she comes in second, she will share the lead with Jelena Prokopcuka (Latvia). Whatever the result is on Sunday, Wami will also run in New York, which will be a unique double in elite running. By doing this she hopes to win the WMM series.

Victory, however, will not come easy. After Wami stopped a six-year winning streak of the Japanese in Berlin last year, another Japanese wants to continue her compatriots’ successes in Berlin: Naoko Sakamoto has a personal best of 2:21:51 hours and is thus only slightly slower than Gete Wami. The Russian Irina Timofeyeva (personal best: 2:25:29) as well as German debutante Irina Mikitenko could surprise as well. For years Mikitenko was the best German long-distance runner on the track at major international championships. Now she’s taking the next step in her career in Berlin.

Elite Athletes in real,- Berlin Marathon

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