Berlin
Marathon champion Tigst Assefa was on Sunday being evacuated to Munich for emergency orthopedic diagnostics, following a dramatic right-leg collapse in the final kilometres of her victorious BMW Berlin Marathon run.
The 29-year-old Tigst Assefa was fast-tracked by her management for specialized care in Bavaria after a suspected acute Achilles tendon injury dashed her world-record bid.
Assefa won the 52nd BMW Berlin Marathon on Sunday, but a sudden, agonizing right-leg injury in the final kilometres shattered her historic bid to reclaim the women's world record.
Brave fight: An injured Tgist Assefa grimaces as she crosses the finish line to win the 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon in the third-fastest time ever - 2:11:04. (Photo / BMW Berlin Marathon)
The 29-year-old collapsed immediately after limping across the finish line in two hours, 11 minutes, and four seconds, and reports from her management state she is scheduled to fly to Munich for specialized orthopedic treatment.
The high-stakes gamble engineered by Assefa’s camp initially unfolded exactly as planned on Berlin’s legendary flat course.
Chasing the historic world-record mark of 2:09:56, her pacers led a ferocious all-or-nothing charge, clearing the halfway mark at a blistering pace.
Stripping away the chasing packs early, Assefa spearheaded an eventual top-five Ethiopian podium sweep, comfortably keeping ahead of the record pace through 35 kilometers.
However, her aggressive strategy met an agonizing wall within the final two kilometres.
Assefa began visibly limping, her rapid stride dissolving as she grimaced through a stark drop in pace. Despite her final-mile collapse, her resilience earned her the third-fastest women's marathon time in history and established a new Berlin course record.
Tgist Assefa in pain after winning the 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon. (Photo / BMW Berlin Marathon)
Achilles Tendon Injury Confirmed
The severity of the incident became clear when Assefa missed her official podium ceremony to receive emergency on-site medical attention.
Race director Mark Milde later confirmed that Assefa suffered an acute injury to her right Achilles tendon during the closing stretches.
Following preliminary diagnostics at the Berlin medical area, team officials announced plans to transfer the champion to Munich, home to Germany's premier sports-medicine specialists, to evaluate whether the tendon suffered a partial tear.
The injury-marred victory concluded a dominant day for East African athletics.
Minutes before Assefa's dramatic finish, fellow Ethiopian Guye Adola secured the elite men’s title in an unofficial time of 2:02:50, sealing an emotional double-gold weekend for the Ethiopian contingent.
Ethiopia's Tgist Assefa is aided by Ethiopian legend Haile Gebrselassie and a race official after she braved injury to win the BMW Berlin Marathon on Sunday. (Photo / Getty Images / BMW Berlin Marathon)
Injury Mirrors Haile Gebrselassie's 2004 Achilles Troubles
Images of Assefa being helped up by fellow Ethiopian Legend Haile Gebrselassie after going down after the finish line flashed back former men’s world record holder Gebrselassie’s own Achilles injury problems in his prime in 2004.
While he had managed recurring, minor right Achilles inflammation as early as 1999 and 2000, it was during his intense training in July 2004 — just five weeks before the Athens Olympic Game s— that he severely damaged his left Achilles tendon.
Despite intense pain, national pressure forced him to compete, and he finished a heroic fifth in the Olympic 10,000-metre final. Immediately following that race, he traveled to Europe to see the three specialists, culminating in his successful surgery in Finland on September 9, 2004
Gebrselassie sought treatment across Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland for the severe Achilles tendon injury, ultimately undergoing successful surgery in Helsinki performed by Dr. Aki Hintsa, which saved his career and enabled him to set multiple marathon world records.
Despite missing the world record, Assefa still broke the Berlin course record of 2:11:53 that she set in 2023 - which was also her previous personal best. In addition, she improved on her time of 2:15:41 at the London Marathon earlier this year.
"We have to bow our heads to this performance. She was on a world record course for most of the race but then something happened to her tendon. To finish like this, I've never seen something like this. The pain is hard to imagine. With a heavy heart, we saw her set a course record, but it could have been a lot more," said race director Mark Milde.
(Agencies)
Ethiopia's Guye Adola crosses the finish line to win the men's title at the 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon on Sunday. (Photo / BMW Berlin Marathon)
Leading results from Sunday's BMW Berlin Marathon:
Women:
1. Tigst Assefa (ETH) 2:11:04
2. Bedatu Hirpa (ETH) 2:16:53
3. Dera Dida (ETH) 2:16:55
4. Bekelech Gudeta (ETH) 2:18:58
5. Alemitu Tariku (ETH) 2:19:01
6. Pascaline Jelagat (KEN) 2:20:23
7. Misgane Alemayehu (ETH) 2:20:27
8. Ludwina Chepngetich (KEN) 2:21:25
9. Evaline Chirchir (KEN) 2:21:32
10. Aminet Ahmed (ETH) 2:21:45
Men:
1. Guye Adola (ETH) 2:02:50
2. Gemechu Dida (ETH) 2:03:19
3. Gabriel Geay (TAN) 2:03:59
4. Getaneh Molla (ETH) 2:04:55
5. Selemon Barega (ETH) 2:04:58
6. Asefa Boki (ETH) 2:05:32
7. Andamlak Belihu (ETH) 2:05:55
8. Shura Kitata (ETH) 2:06:04
9. Yuhei Urano (JPN) 2:06:09
10. Tadu Abate (ETH) 2:07:16
Tgist Assefa on her way to winning the 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon on Sunday. (Photo / BMW Berlin Marathon)
