2012 Berlin Marathon

Last updated
39th Berlin Marathon
Berlin marathon 2012 am kleistpark between kilometers 21 and 22 30.09.2012 10-07-07.jpg
Men's winner Geoffrey Mutai (right) running in Berlin
Venue Berlin, Germany
Dates30 September
Champions
Men Geoffrey Mutai (2:04:15)
Women Aberu Kebede (2:20:30)
  2011
2013  

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]

Contents

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. Berlin marathon 2012 buelowstrasse between kilometers 36 and 37 30.09.2012 10-51-10.jpg
Winner Geoffrey Mutai (left) improved on his runner-up finish in Berlin in 2010.
Elite men
PositionAthleteNationalityTime
Gold medal icon.svg Geoffrey Mutai Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 2:04:15 PB [8]
Silver medal icon.svg Dennis Kimetto Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 2:04:16 PB
Bronze medal icon.svg Geoffrey Kipsang Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 2:06:12 PB
4 Nicholas Kamakya Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 2:08:28
5 Josphat Keiyo Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 2:08:41
6 Josphat Jepkopol Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 2:08:44
7 Jonathan Maiyo Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 2:09:19
8 Eliud Kiptanui Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 2:09:59
9 Felix Keny Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 2:10:22
10 Masakazu Fujiwara Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 2:11:31
Elite women
Women's winner Aberu Kebede in a group at Kilometer 37 Berlin marathon 2012 buelowstrasse between kilometers 36 and 37 30.09.2012 11-05-45.jpg
Women's winner Aberu Kebede in a group at Kilometer 37
PositionAthleteNationalityTime
Gold medal icon.svg Aberu Kebede Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 2:20:30 PB
Silver medal icon.svg Tirfi Tsegaye Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 2:21:19 PB
Bronze medal icon.svg Olena Shurkhno Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 2:23:32 NR
4 Flomena Chepchirchir Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 2:24:56
5 Fate Tola Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 2:25:14 PB
6 Alevtina Biktimirova Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 2:28:45
7 Caroline Chepkwony Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 2:30:34 PB
8 Anna Hahner Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 2:30:37
9 Sonia Samuels Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 2:30:56 PB
10 Degefa Biruktayit Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 2:33:27

Wheelchair

Paralympic gold medallist Heinz Frei was runner-up in the men's wheelchair race. Flickr - CarolineG2011 - Great guns at the T54 London Paralympic marathon.jpg
Paralympic gold medallist Heinz Frei was runner-up in the men's wheelchair race.
Men
PositionAthleteNationalityTime
Gold medal icon.svg Marcel Hug Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 1:29:43
Silver medal icon.svg Heinz Frei Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 1:29:48
Bronze medal icon.svg Rafael Botello Jimenez Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 1:32:54
Women
PositionAthleteNationalityTime
Gold medal icon.svg Sandra Graf Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 1:46:19
Silver medal icon.svg Francesca Porcellato Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 1:56:37
Bronze medal icon.svg Yvonne Sehmisch Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 2:06:26

In-line skating

Men
PositionAthleteNationalityTime
Gold medal icon.svg Ewen Fernandez Flag of France.svg  France 1:00:04
Silver medal icon.svg Bart Swings Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 1:00:04
Bronze medal icon.svg Felix Rijhnen Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 1:02:48
Women
PositionAthleteNationalityTime
Gold medal icon.svg Sabine Berg Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 1:14:13
Silver medal icon.svg Jana GegnerFlag of Germany.svg  Germany 1:14:13
Bronze medal icon.svg Katja UlbrichFlag of Germany.svg  Germany 1:14:13
4Sofia D'AnnibaleFlag of Italy.svg  Italy 1:14:13

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