Berlin Marathon 2022: Top women to watch in the marathon major in Germany 

Expectation is building for this weekend’s Berlin Marathon, where some of the top male and female long-distance runners will take to the streets of Germany’s capital to race in the first of this year's autumn marathon majors.

All the action takes place on Sunday 25 September, where a world-class women’s field will attempt to win one of the most famous and well-loved marathons on the circuit.

The course is notoriously fast - Eliud Kipchoge set his men’s world record there in 2018 - and flat, so it won’t be a surprise to see new personal bests set and historic firsts recorded.

One woman enters the race with a sub-2:20 PB, with American record holder Keira d’Amato leading the way on 2:19:12. Following that, a further five athletes with times under 2:21 will be hoping to break the 2:20 mark in Germany.

READ MORE: Top things to know about the Berlin Marathon

Keira d’Amato aiming to lower her own American record

One record that may well be on the line in Berlin is the American national record held by Keira d’Amato. In January 2022, the 37-year-old broke a 16-year-old American marathon record when she raced to victory in the Houston Marathon, shaving 24 seconds of the previous best by Deena Kastor set in the London Marathon of 2006.

It was a remarkable run by an athlete who had quit the sport for seven years following college and who has progressed from a 2017 time of 3:14:54 to place 15th at the US Olympic trials and now hold the fastest time in US history.

Sara Hall, the woman many thought was most likely break the American record, misses out on the race after failing to shrug off an injury to her IT band. Hall’s best time of 2:20:32 is the third-fastest by an American woman in history and was set in December 2020 at the Marathon Project.

D’Amato also competed in the World Athletics Championships in Oregon in July, ending the marathon street race in eighth place in a time of 2:23:34.

In Berlin, she has the chance to become the first US winner of the women’s race and may well challenge her own American record in the process.

The race for sub-2:20

Kenya’s Nancy Jelagat was expected to challenge for the win in Berlin as the second woman with a sub-2:20 time on the start list, however her late withdrawal through injury leaves the field open for other runners to shine - predominantly those from Ethiopia and Kenya.

Ethiopia’s Gutemi Shone Imana holds a fastest time of 2:20:11 set in Dubai in January 2020, however only seven seconds separate her from the fastest Kenyan on the starting line, Maurine Chepkemoi, winner of the Enschede marathon in April 2022 and silver medallist at the 2021 Amsterdam Marathon where she set her personal best time of 2:20:18. The young runner is still only 24 and has a bright future ahead of her in a sport where athletes so often set their fastest times at a later stage in their career.

Ethiopia’s Workenesh Edesa (2:20:24) and Sisay Gola (2:20:50), as well as Kenya’s Vibian Chepkirui (2:20:59) are the other quickest women on paper in the fastest field in the history of the Berlin Marathon.

How to watch the 2022 Berlin Marathon 

There will be free online coverage available for the international audience.

In Germany, there will be live broadcasts on ARD from 09:00 a.m. until noon CET and RBB broadcasts from 09:00 a.m. - 14:00 p.m.