On the fiftieth Berlin Marathon on Sunday, greater than 54,000 runners crossed the end line–one among them doing so for the forty third time. Günter Hallas of Germany was the winner of the inaugural marathon in Berlin in 1974, the place he clocked 2:44:53, and has solely missed the occasion a handful of instances since. On Sunday, the 84-year-old crossed the road in 7:02:33, taking 14th place in his over-80 age class. (There have been 19 males and 5 girls within the 80-plus classes.)
One other transferring efficiency from Sunday was by Germany’s Peter Bartel, 82, who additionally competed within the first-ever Berlin Marathon. A heartwarming video of Bartel ending the race went viral on social media–he crossed the road for the forty sixth time, and was the race’s last finisher, clocking 8:59:18. Fifty years in the past, he took 176th in 4:41:00–solely 286 runners participated within the occasion in that first 12 months.
Though the present course data are greater than 43 minutes quicker than Hallas’s profitable Berlin Marathon time from 50 years in the past, each he and Bartel have impressed and impressed the world with their dedication to proceed their marathon-running careers. The pair will undoubtedly go down as legends and pioneers in race historical past.
Tigist Ketema and Milkesa Mengesha took dwelling the titles on Sunday. Ketema, 26, claimed her second win of the 12 months, ending in 2:16:42, whereas Mengesha, 24, crossed the road in 2:03:17.
