On the men's side at this edition of the Berlin MarathonThere are five athletes with PBs under 2:04.

Defending champion Sebastian Savi is unable to compete in this Berlin Marathon due to injury, and Kenenisa Bekele was also unable to attend as planned.

Today Berlin's weather was clear; at the start it was 11–12 ℃ with a light breeze, and the highest temperature during the race would be around 18 ℃. For all competitors, this is a relatively suitable racing temperature.

0-10km

After the start Tigst Assefa moved forward with the men's 210 group, with "Iron Egg" Li Jian and Sheng Wang close behind Assefa. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigst_Assefa?utm_source=openai))

In the lead group, a "three-man pacer" of Kipruto, Kimtai and others guided Barega, Kitata and the rest through the first kilometer at a 3:03 pace. He Jie, Wu Xiangdong and Wang Jiahao were in the men's second group trailing behind.

On the men's side, the lead group passed 5 km in 14:39.

Among them, He Jie passed the 5 km timing point in 14:53, placing 13th, directly behind Japan's Hirabayashi Kiyoto and Urano Yuhei. ([logisteed.com](https://www.logisteed.com/jp/profile/running/member/post_27/?utm_source=openai))

The second group is projected to finish around 2:05, and He Jie, like those Japanese runners, is pushing hard toward a national record.

On the women's side, Assefa passed 5 km at roughly 3:00/km; Zhang Deshun went through in 16:01. If Shunzi is in good shape, she could very likely overhaul Sun Yingjie's national record of 2:19:39 from 2003.

Shortly after, Tigist Assefa passed the 10 km timing point in 30:48, sitting well clear in the women's race.

"Dazhong Yijie" Zhu Qing passed 10 km in 34:03.

In the men's race, the lead group hit the 10 km timing mat in 28:58. He Jie passed in 29:43 in 17th place; Wu Xiangdong passed in 30:07 in 28th.

Through the first 10 km, all runners largely ran according to their target paces.

10km–half marathon

From 10–15 km, the men's lead group still contained many runners; they passed 15 km in 43:24 (avg. pace 2:54/km).

He Jie was 15th, passing 15 km in 44:39, his pace still steady compared with the first 10 km; Wu Xiangdong kept close to a 3:00/km target from the start, passing 15 km in 45:12 (avg. pace 3:01/km).

Li Jian was still following the women's leader—Tigist Assefa—passing 15 km in 46:13.

Right behind her, domestic women's elite Zhang Deshun was also steady, passing 15 km in 48:33; the first 15 km average paces were around 3:15/km.

At 20 km, Salomon Barega led the men's elite lead group through in 57:49; the half split was 1:01:01 (avg. pace 2:55/km).

Tigist Assefa passed 20 km in 1:01:34, with a half split of 1:04:57. Assefa gradually accelerated from about 3:06/km after the start to roughly 3:04/km.

Zhang Deshun passed the half in 1:08:28, but her pacing shows some slowdown—she went from 3:14/km early to 3:18/km at the half. Hopefully she can hold on!

He Jie and Wu Xiangdong passed the half-marathon mat in 1:03:27 and 1:03:25 respectively.

He Jie's pace had already dropped by the half; he had run aggressively early with an average around 2:58/km, falling to about 3:04/km by the half.

Half–30km

Around 23 km, some runners in the lead group began to slow, and the original big pack started to fragment.

Salomon Barega of the men's lead group reached 25 km in 1:12:22.

"Chairman" Wu Xiangdong was very steady, reaching 25 km in 1:15:18 (avg. pace 3:03/km), with little slowdown; He Jie had dropped more, down to 3:12/km at 25 km, passing 25 km in 1:15:53.

Li Jian stayed with Tigst Assefa and together passed the 25 km timing point in 1:16:59; both were very steady, at roughly 3:06/km pace.

Zhang Deshun passed 25 km in 1:21:25 (avg pace 3:20/km), placing in the women's top ten and becoming the only non‑African among the leading female runners.

At 29 km the lead pacer pushed the pace. The men's lead group was stretched again, and Selemon Barega remained at the front of the lead group.

30-35km

The men's lead group reached 30 km in 1:26:57, average pace 2:55/km.

Wu Xiangdong reached 30 km in 1:30:28 (avg pace 3:02/km); He Jie in 1:32:07 (avg 3:15/km).

At 30 km Li Jian had opened a ten‑metre gap on Tigst Assefa, passing in 1:32:29 (avg pace 3:06/km), but his overall pace remained very steady; Li Jian may adopt a more conservative tactic in the later stages.

Tigst Assefa passed 30 km in 1:32:15 (avg pace 3:03/km), compared towas half a minute behind Ruth Chepngetich's 30 km split at the 2024 Chicago Marathon (2:09:56 women's marathon world record).。

After dropping pace, Kiyoto Hirabayashi continued following alongside Assefa.

Zhang Deshun passed 30 km in 1:38:22, one minute faster than Sun Yingjie's national‑record split from that year.

35-40km

At 35 km, the Ethiopian‑born, now German national — Guye Adola — went solo, passing in 1:41:18 with the aim of targeting the title.

He ran his Berlin debut in 2017 in 2:03:46 — can he refresh his PB today?

In better form, Wu Xiangdong passed 35 km in 1:45:48, at an average pace of 3:04/km.

He Jie may have had some physical problems; his average pace at 35 km fell to 3:27/km, passing 35 km in 1:49:19.

At 38 km, Selemon Barega also showed a slowdown.

Tigst Assefa passed 35 km in 1:47:32 — exactly the same 35 km split Ruth Chepngetich had that year — her current average pace was 3:04/km. Assefa gradually began to increase the pace to chase the world record; her expression looked relatively relaxed, and it seemed very likely she could rewrite the women's marathon world record today.

Zhang Deshun passed 35 km in 1:56:14, almost identical to the national 35 km split held by Sun Yingjie — Shunzi, go!

40 km–finish

Guye Adola passed 40 km in 1:57:36, the first to cross the Brandenburg Gate.

Tigst Assefa crossed 40 km in 2:03:00, alreadyRuth Chepngetich was quick! She forced herself on with a smile despite physical discomfort — what was the final result?!

Wu Xiangdong kept a steady pace, passing 40 km in 2:01:21 — the "President" was only a hair away from a PB!

He Jie appears to have suffered genuine physical problems in the later stages; his pace dropped to 3:47/km, passing 40 km in 2:08:13.

Zhang Deshun crossed the 40 km timing mat in 2:15:02; "Shunzi" may also have run into issues, with his average pace slipping to 3:46/km.

Final results for the men's race at the 2026 Berlin Marathon:Guye Adolawon in 2:02:51;Gemechu Dida Diriba 2:03:19took second,Gabriel Gerald Geayfinished third in 2:03:59.

Wu Xiangdong 2:07:56 (new PB), Wang Jiahao 2:08:21, Li Jian 2:12:16, "Dazheng" Wang Lianzheng 2:14:19 — also a big PB!

He Jie finished in 2:16:16, Zhang Deshun finished in 2:23:37 — congratulations to them as well!

In the women's race Tigist Assefa gritted her teeth to hang on, finishing in 2:11:04 to win and improve her own 2023 PB of 2:11:53 set here. To produce that time in this state of fitness is regrettable but deeply admirable.