Ethiopian triumph at the Frankfurt Marathon: Abraham best European!

Ethiopian triumph at the Frankfurt Marathon: Abraham best European!

An exciting marathon weekend in Frankfurt is behind us. The Mainova Frankfurt Marathon took place on Sunday, October 26, 2025, where athletes took to the track in windy conditions. The Ethiopian Belay Asfaw prevailed in an impressive manner and secured victory with a time of 2:06:16 hours. This not only meant first place, but also a personal best, which he improved by 44 seconds. It's worth noting that this time was no easy task in the challenging weather - the challenges posed by the wind made the achievement even more impressive. According to reports from athletics.de Asfaw's victory was part of an Ethiopian triumph, as second and third places also went to athletes from Ethiopia: Taresa Bekuma and Shura Kitata, who crossed the finish line with times of 2:07:01 and 2:07:02 hours.

A look at the European competition shows that Filimon Abraham, who runs for LG Telis Finanz Regensburg, was the best European participant. He finished the race in ninth place with a time of 2:09:43 hours, but missed the German course record by 70 seconds. Tom Thurley from the Potsdam running club followed him as the second best German in 10th place in 2:11:19 hours. Jan Lukas Becker, from TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, completed the race in 15th place and achieved a time of 2:13:33 hours.

Strong performances from women

In the women's race, Buze Diriba from Ethiopia showed a first-class performance and won in 2:19:34 hours. Kenyans Magdalyne Masai and Sharon Chelimo followed her in second and third place, with times of 2:20:23 and 2:20:29 respectively. On the German side, Laura Hottenrott from PSV Grün-Weiß Kassel performed the best and came 14th with 2:28:17 hours. Katharina Saathoff from the Braunschweig running club also shone – with 2:34:39 hours she stayed under the time of 2:35 hours for the first time.

The outstanding performances of this event contrast with the dominant leadership of Ethiopian runners in general. A historical review shows that the Frankfurt Marathon - although one of the most important marathons - was only won once in 36 years by an Ethiopian runner, and that was in 2015 with Sisay Lemma. How runup.eu Reportedly, there was even a triple victory for Ethiopian runners in 2017, which underlines the strong competition.

A marathon with history

The Mainova Frankfurt Marathon is known for its special atmosphere and the outstanding number of participants. This year around 10,950 marathon runners took part, while a total of around 26,000 participants took part in various competitions over the weekend. The weather wasn't exactly ideal; the temperatures were around 13°C, accompanied by strong winds. Despite these things, the athletes delivered impressive performances. Brimin Misoi from Kenya, who won the 2023 marathon, noted that he was able to cope well with the adverse conditions, which underlines his performance.

Overall, the Frankfurt Marathon shows that true champions can prevail under difficult conditions and that Ethiopian dominance in marathon running continues. It will be interesting to see what services future events will bring!