Berlin Marathon winner Tigst Assefa 'completely destroyed' her Achilles chasing world record
Marathon runner Tigst Assefa suffered a complete rupture of her Achilles tendon while attempting to break the world record at the Berlin Marathon. Despite the severe injury, she finished the race with the third-fastest time in history, though she required medical attention immediately afterward.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the extreme physical toll of elite endurance sports and the risks athletes take in pursuit of world records.
BERLIN (AP) — Berlin Marathon winner Tigst Assefa "completely destroyed" her right Achilles tendon trying to regain her world record.
Assefa was on well on course to beat Ruth Chepng'etich's world record with 2 kilometers remaining in Sunday's race when she suddenly began limping with what appeared to be cramps. She grimaced and kept running in visible pain before ultimately finishing 68 seconds behind Chepng'etich's mark of 2:09:56 from Chicago in 2024.
It transpired Assefa suffered a "complete rupture of the right Achilles tendon," her representative Gianni Demadonna told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Demadonna said the Ethiopian runner had been in pain from the 31st kilometer but decided to continue running before the injury struck at the 40K mark.
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