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Berlin Marathon: Rosemary Wanjiru targets personal best as she returns to Germany
26th September, 2026 09:43 AM
Kenyan marathoner Rosemary Wanjiru is targeting a new personal best when she lines up for the 2026 Berlin Marathon on Sunday, September 27, 2026.
The reigning Berlin Marathon champion will return to the German capital for the third time, with Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa among the leading names expected to challenge for honours.
Rather than focusing on her rivals, Wanjiru says her main objective is to test herself against the clock and improve on her best time.
“The only race will be that against the clock in Berlin,” she told Olympics.com in an interview before heading into the final stages of her training in Iten.
“I want to run my personal best, faster than the 2:16 I clocked in Tokyo.”
Wanjiru ran 2:16:14 to finish second at the Tokyo Marathon two years ago. She had won the same race the previous year.
The 31-year-old has built much of her marathon career around the Tokyo and Berlin races, with the two cities becoming familiar territory during her transition from track running to the marathon.
“I moved to Japan when I was 16 for high school and that’s where I really developed as a runner,” said Wanjiru, who speaks fluent Japanese.
“So whenever I run there, it’s like running at home. And returning to Berlin this year for the third time, returning to a familiar course and going back to another home, gives me confidence in my abilities to have a really good race.”
Wanjiru credits marathon for changing her career
Wanjiru’s journey to the marathon was preceded by a successful career on the track.
She first took up middle-distance running while in primary school before moving to Japan as a teenager. It was there that she developed further as an athlete and later made her mark in the 3000m.
Her only individual medal for Kenya came in the 5000m at the 2015 All-Africa Games.
After representing Kenya at the 2019 World Athletics Championships, where she finished fourth behind Sifan Hassan, Wanjiru had already decided that the marathon would be her next major challenge.
She had planned to make the switch before pursuing her Olympic dream, but the Covid-19 pandemic delayed her marathon debut.
When she eventually made her first appearance over 42.195km in 2022, Wanjiru immediately announced herself on the international stage by finishing second in Berlin in 2:18.
Her breakthrough victory came at the Tokyo Marathon, where she secured her first World Marathon Majors title.
The victory also placed her among the fastest women marathon runners in history at the time.
“Tokyo is like a second home for me, so this was huge,” she reflected. “I was mainly a road runner but switching to the marathons was really difficult. But running marathons changed my life. It opened a totally new chapter. I was able to earn and invest from my race earnings and also turn around my family’s fortunes.” She added.
Wanjiru will now hope her familiarity with the Berlin course can help her produce another memorable performance as she seeks to lower her personal best.
