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 worked hard 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 overtook him with a devastating final attack. This was the first major marathon victory for Deriba, who had 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 set by Eritrean-born Swiss Tadesse Abraham, with a time of 2:05:11. In fact, he lowered his personal best by three minutes. "I was optimistic, but I didn't expect that time; I'm very happy," Deriba explained at the end of the race, assisted by Tadesse Abraham, who acted as a translator, as Deriba doesn't speak English.

Kibet finished second with a time of 2 hours, 4 minutes, and 53 seconds. Third place went to 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 or heat. The cold morning in Barcelona helped the athletes.

Chelimo surprises with a new record

In the women's category, a record was also broken. The winner was 31-year-old Kenyan Sharon Chelimo, who set a faster pace with the help of her pacemaker from kilometer 35, managing to enter with a time of 2:19:33, ten seconds less than the 2023 record set by Zeineba Yimer (Ethiopia 4: 1:4:2). For much of the race, the group of favorites were close enough, but Chelimo, who was holding back, staged a key final attack. In fact, she managed to beat her personal best by three minutes, as her previous best time was 2:22:07, set in Frankfurt in 2023. "I wanted to beat the personal best, but I didn't expect to be able to beat the race record. I'm very happy," explained Chelimo, who until now had only beaten one marai, one maradia, and one maradia.

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

The 2025 edition stood out, as always, for its great popular atmosphere, with crowds filling the streets, including the President of the Generalitat (Catalan regional government), Salvador Illa, who usually attends these races. This year, with 60% foreign participants, a record number of race numbers sold: 27,000. That's almost 7,000 more than last year. The race started at 8:30 a.m. between Plaça Catalunya and Gran Via, finishing 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 seeing if it can continue to grow in the future.