Kenya blazed the brightest at the 2025 Berlin Marathon on September 21. While Sabastian Sawe, 30, won the men’s race, Rosemary Wanjiru, 30, conquered the women’s edition in the German capital, according to BBC Sport.

Who is Rosemary Wanjiru?

Rosemary Wanjiru won the women’s race at the 2025 Berlin Marathon in 2 hours, 21 minutes, 5 seconds. She beat Ethiopia’s Dera Dida by three seconds to win the competition. Born in Mombasa, Kenya, Wanjiru developed her love for athletics at a young age.

Rosemary Wanjiru started appearing in long-distance competitions after she moved to Japan as a teenager. In addition to winning the Chiba International Cross Country title, Wanjiru was runner-up in the 3000 metres at the 2012 National Sports Festival of Japan, as per worldathletics.org.

She made her international debut at the 2015 African Games, winning a silver medal in the 5000 M category. Just seven years later, at 2:18:00, Wanjiru delivered the second-fastest ever women’s marathon debut at the Berlin Marathon 2022. A year later, Wanjiru also won the Tokyo Marathon 2023.

Records Sawe and Wanjiru were unable to break in Berlin

Sabastian Sawe wanted to break Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35. However, he started to experience exhaustion after he reached halfway in 1:00:12, as per BBC Sport. He was 1 minute and 41 seconds away from breaking Kiptum’s record.

On the other hand, Rosemary Wanjiru was 12 minutes away from breaking her compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2 hours, 9 minutes, 56 seconds, which was set in Chicago in 2024.

FAQs

How long did it take Sabastian Sawe to finish the Berlin Marathon?

It took Sabastian Sawe 2 hours, 2 minutes, 16 seconds to finish the Berlin Marathon.

How long did it take Rosemary Wanjiru to complete the 2025 Berlin Marathon?

Rosemary Wanjiru took 2 hours, 21 minutes, 5 seconds to complete the 2025 Berlin Marathon.

What position did Akasaki Akira get at the 2025 Berlin Marathon?

Japan’s Akasaki Akira got the second position at the 2025 Berlin Marathon.