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Marathon star Sabastian Sawe has been confirmed for the 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon, where he will return to defend his title.
He heads into the September 27 race in strong form after his victory in London, where he delivered a sub-two-hour performance, raising expectations ahead of Berlin.
Sawe has now gone four-for-four in marathon races, including triumphs in Valencia, London, and last year’s Berlin Marathon.
Notably, the 31-year-old claimed the Berlin title in 2025 with a time of 2:02:16 despite unusually hot conditions of around 25°C.
In a statement on Wednesday, May 13, the BMW Berlin Marathon confirmed that thousands of athletes from around the world are expected to participate in this year’s edition.
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"At this year’s BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, almost 80,000 participants from 160 nations are expected including runners, wheelchair athletes, hands cyclists and skaters," the organization said.
Sawe is expected to compete in Adidas’ Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 as fans anticipate another potential record attempt on the historic course.
Speaking ahead of the race, he said he is focused on preparation and delivering his best possible performance on race day.
"After coming off my win in London and sub-2 performance, I can only say that, like always, I plan to prepare myself to the best of my ability and to come to Berlin to honor this great event and organization which have invited me, and to run as well and fast as possible. Then on the day we will see what will happen," Sawe stated.
The Berlin Marathon was first held in 1974 in West Berlin and has since grown into one of the World Marathon Majors alongside Boston, London, Chicago, and New York.
The race takes place annually in late September, except for 2020 when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The course is famous for being very flat with few turns, finishing near the Brandenburg Gate, which makes it ideal for fast times and record-breaking performances.
Over the years, Berlin has earned the reputation of being the fastest marathon course in the world and has been the stage for several world records, including Eliud Kipchoge’s 2:01:09 in 2022 and Tigst Assefa’s women’s world record of 2:11:53 in 2023.
In the last 10 editions of the men’s race, the winners have been Sawe in 2025 with a time of 2:02:16, Milkesa Mengesha in 2024 with 2:03:17, Eliud Kipchoge in 2023 with 2:02:42, and again Kipchoge in 2022 when he set a world record of 2:01:09.
In 2021, Guye Adola won the race in 2:05:45 while the 2019 race was won by Birhanu Legese in 2:01:41.
In 2018, Kipchoge won in 2:01:39, followed by another victory in 2017 in 2:03:32. In 2016, Kenenisa Bekele took the title in 2:03:03, and in 2015, Kipchoge won again in 2:04:00.
In the women’s race over the same period, Rosemary Wanjiru won in 2025 with a time of 2:21:05.
Tigist Ketema won in 2024 in 2:16:42, while Tigist Assefa dominated in 2023 with a world record of 2:11:53 and also won in 2022 in 2:15:37.
In 2019, Ashete Bekere won in 2:20:14. Gladys Cherono won in 2018 in 2:18:11, and again in 2017 in 2:20:23.
Aberu Kebede claimed victory in 2016 in 2:20:45, while Cherono also won in 2015 in 2:19:25.
