Cramps derail Tigst Assefa's world record as Guye Adola wins Berlin Marathon

BERLIN -- Tigst Assefa wanted her world record back and was on course to smash it until cramps before the finish line dashed her hopes in the Berlin Marathon on Sunday.

The 29-year-old Assefa still ran the third fastest time ever. She set a new course record with a time of 2 hours, 11 minutes and 4 seconds for her third Berlin Marathon win after 2022 and 2023.

Assefa set a world record with her time of 2:11:53 in 2023 , only for Ruth Chepng'etich to lower the mark by nearly 2 minutes to 2:09:56 in Chicago the following year.

Chepng’etich wasn't racing Sunday because she's serving a three-year ban for a doping violation . Her record still stands.