Men's and women's records fall at a high-level Barcelona Marathon

BarcelonaEthiopian Tesfaye Deriba Ketema, 26, has set a new men's record for the Barcelona Marathon Deriba and Chelimo won with an excellent time of 2 hours, 4 minutes, and 13 seconds, one minute less than the previous record. It was a record-breaking edition, as Kenyan Sharon Chelimo, despite suffering greatly, managed to set a new personal best in the women's category, with a time of 2:19:33. The excellent time achieved by Deriba and Chelimo confirms the Barcelona event's commitment to having a faster course and attracting increasingly higher-level athletes.

Deriba, an athlete who initially competed in shorter distances such as the 3,000m hurdles and the 5,000m, reached the 35-kilometer mark accompanied by Kenyan Cornelius Kibet, but was defeated by a devastating final attack. It was Deriba's first major marathon victory, having been preparing for the leap for some time after focusing on the half marathon in recent years. The Ethiopian managed to beat last year's record of 2:05:11 set by Eritrean-born Swiss Tadesse Abraham. In fact, he lowered his personal best by three minutes. "I was optimistic, but I didn't expect this time. I'm very happy," Deriba said at the end of the race, assisted by Tadesse Abraham, who acted as his translator, as Deriba doesn't speak English.

Kibet finished second with a time of 2 hours, 4 minutes, and 53 seconds, and third was Kenyan Enock Onchar, with a time of 2 hours, 5 minutes, and 18 seconds. In other words, today's top two finishers both surpassed the 2024 mark, a testament to the high level of a race in which the weather was favorable, with no rain and no heat. The cold morning in Barcelona helped the athletes.

Chelimo surprises with a new record

A record was also broken in the women's category. The winner was 31-year-old Kenyan Sharon Chelimo, who set a faster pace with the help of her pacemaker from kilometer 35 onwards and managed to finish with a time of 2:19:33, ten seconds less than the 2023 record set by Zeineba Yimer (Ethiopia). For much of the race the group of favorites were close enough together, but Chelimo, who was holding back, staged a key final attack and even managed to beat her personal best by three minutes, which until now was 2:22:07, achieved in Frankfurt in 2023. "I wanted to beat mine," said Chelimo, who until now had only won one competitive marathon, that of Buriram, in Thailand.

In second place was the Ethiopian Yebrugal Melese Arage, with a time of 2:20:47, below what was expected of a woman who arrived as the big favorite. Third place went to the Kenyan Linet Masai, with a time of 2:21:01.

The marathon also served to crown the Catalan marathon champions. In the men's category, Josep Maria Arnal won for the first time. The athlete, now with Barça, finished the race with a time of 2:20:34, ahead of Bilal Ziadi and Xavi Tomasa. In the women's category, he defeated Tarragona-based Maria Lázaro. It was one of the surprises of the day, as she also took the victory in the Spanish Championship. Lázaro finished the race with a time of 2:38:37, ahead of Bárbara Ramon and Aurora Bargalló.

This 2025 edition has stood out as always for the good popular atmosphere, with crowds filling the streets, and with the participation of the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, He doesn't usually miss these races and was participating in the Barcelona Marathon for the third time. Illa explained that his challenge was to break four hours for the first time, a goal he achieved, with a time of 3 hours, 41 minutes, and 7 seconds. "One of the goals of this government is to support major sporting events to help the country grow. The Marathon is a very important event; the atmosphere here is very nice," he said before starting the race. Isla ran accompanied by the Secretary General of Sport, Abel García.

This year's edition, with 60% foreign participants, achieved a record number of bib numbers sold: 27,000. That's almost 7,000 more than last year. The race started at 8:30 between Plaça Catalunya and Gran Via, and finished at the Arc de Triomf. This year, for the second time, the event featured a fast-paced route through the city center, passing iconic sites like the Sagrada Família, but with some new features due to the roadworks in the Montjuïc area. The organizers celebrated the success of the race, which faces the challenge of continued growth in the future.

Running the Marathon while pushing a wheelchair

The event, beyond the brands, also had a charitable component, such as the Zurich Aefat team, an inclusive team that has already participated in 31 marathons with the aim of motivating children and young people affected by ataxia telangiectasis, a rare, neurodegenerative disease that causes severe, progressive physical disability and shortens the lifespan. With the aim of raising funds for research, twenty runners completed the Marathon, pushing six children's wheelchairs over these 42 kilometers. "There are more than 7,000 rare diseases, and we have only identified just over 40 children and young people affected by ours, ataxia telangiectasis. For eight years we have had the support of our runners, Zurich Seguros, the Marathon organizers, and MRW in transporting the special wheelchairs," said the president of Aefat.