After a successful #restartrunning in all respects at the adidas Runners City Night & Inline Skating, the next traditional event by the organiser SCC EVENTS is now coming up. On August 22, runners and skaters will meet at the 40th GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON to celebrate #restartrunning over the half marathon distance. Due to the current pandemic situation, there is a detailed hygiene concept this year that also means a reduced number of participants; the field of top athletes, however, is even stronger than usual at the anniversary event.
Top athletes men
Philemon Kiplimo is the clear favourite among the men. With his best time of 58:11, the Kenyan is more than half a minute under the current course record of Erick Kiptanui from 2018 (58:42). The GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON will be the first race over the 21.0975 km distance for Philemon Kiplimo this year, and the 22-year-old has accordingly set his sights high. Josphat Tanui is also easily capable of finishing a half marathon in under an hour. Whether the Kenyan will pose a threat to his compatriot Kiplimo or even to the course record remains to be seen. From a German point of view, Philipp Pflieger leads the way. After his victory at this year’s adidas Runners City Night, the athlete from LT Haspa Marathon Hamburg now wants to score points in the half marathon race.
Top athletes women
The group of top female athletes is also top notch. With Kenyans Joyciline Jepkosgei (personal best 1:04:51) and Edith Chelimo (personal best 1:05:52) as well as Ethiopian Helen Tola, three runners have the potential to break the current course record (1:05:45) set by Sifan Hassan. The existing best mark from 2019 should be a tempting challenge for former half marathon world record holder Jepkosgei. Rabea Schöneborn of LG Nord Berlin was seeded as a substitute marathon runner for the Olympics and is accordingly in good shape. Surely she wants to show on the streets of Berlin what would have been possible in Japan.
Top Inline Skaters
Rarely before has the field of elite skaters at the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON been so high class. Skating legend Bart Swings from Belgium (Powerslide/Matter World Team) is interrupting his preparations for the Olympic Winter Games in speed skating to be at the start. The six-time winner of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is considered one of the strongest favourites. His top competition will be this year’s European Championship bronze medallist in the marathon Felix Rijhnen (Powerslide/Matter World Team) from Germany. But Sebastian Mirsch (IKK BB Pure Racing Team), winner of the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON 2018, and Venezuelan Alexander Bastidas (Team Roller A3) will also be competing for spots on the podium. In the women’s race, the field of favourites is led by Katharina Rumpus (Powerslide/Matter World Team), the four-time winner of the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON. She also secured the bronze medal at this year’s European Marathon Championships. Her biggest competition lurks with the multiple world and European champion Sandrine Tas from Belgium as well as Italian Giorgia Bormida from her own team.
Live Stream of the race on sunday
We provide a live coverage of the race with German commentary. Tip: Use additionally the live feed in English on twitter. Join the live stream of the race on our website and on Facebook, August 22, 2021, from 8:25 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
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