Addis Ababa, September 29, 2023 (FBC) – Athlete Tigist Assefa, who obliterated the 49th BMW Berlin Marathon record last Sunday (24 September), has received a heroic welcome by the leadership of Ethiopian Athletics Federation at Bole International Airport.
Upon her touchdown at Bole International Airport, she was welcomed by Ethiopian Athletics Federation President, Derartu Tulu and Minister of State for Culture and Sports, Ambassador Mesfin Chernet.
Atlete Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s marathon world record on Sunday as she won the Berlin Marathon, completing the course in 2:11:53 and shaving more than two minutes off the previous best.
It marked her second consecutive Berlin Marathon title, and a time that was two minutes and 11 seconds faster than Brigid Kosgei’s previous world record set at the 2019 Chicago Marathon, though it is still subject to the usual ratification procedure, according to World Athletics.
Still a relative newcomer to the distance, it was only Tigst’s third ever competitive marathon after she made the switch from middle-distance running.
It was a blistering race from the very start with the leading 12 women all running within world record pace through the opening 15 kilometers.
By the halfway point, the 26 year old Tigst was more than a minute inside world record pace and alone at the head of the race, streaking ahead of the field.
Eventually, she crossed the finish line almost six minutes ahead of Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui in second and Tanzania’s Magdalena Shauri in third.