Africa

2019 BMW Berlin Marathon; the Triumph of Ethiopian and Kenyan Runners

A record number of 46,983 runners from 150 countries

October 08th, 2019
Giulia Russo Wälti, News from Berlin
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The BMW Marathon took place on September 29th 2019. As an example of social cohesion, this marathon was symbolically organized a few days before October 3rd, the German Unity Day.

Strongly supported by H.E. Ambassador of Kenya to Germany Joseph Magutt, Kenyan runners have achieved remarkable results. Kenya's Sally Chepyego took third position in the women's category finishing with a time of 02:21:06, while in men’s category, Kenya's Jonathan Korir came fourth with 02:06:45, ahead of his compatriots, Felix Kandie with 02:08:07 in 5th position, and Abel Kipchumba with 02:09:39 in 10th position.

Despite these impressive results, the Ethiopian athletes claimed the top 3 places for the female category and top 2 in the male category. Kenenisa Bekele, was the first athlete to cross the line, missing the world record by a mere two seconds, thus becoming the second fastest runner of all time.

Other than the remarkable results obtained by the runners at this event is an example of a socio-cultural activity that stimulates social cohesion. Sport is an informal form of cultural diplomacy, as it breaks down mental, cultural and generational barriers. Physical and mental boundaries can be broken down, as demonstrated by Germany reunification in 1990, celebrated on October 3rd as a National Holiday. For this reason, the occurrence of the Berlin Marathon can be linked to the date of the celebration of German reunification.

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News from Berlin