Berlin Ekiden

The Brandenburg Gate in the 1990s, where the race finished

The Berlin Ekiden (Japanese: ベルリン駅伝, German: Ekiden-Lauf von Potsdam nach Berlin), also known as the Potsdam-Berlin Memorial Ekiden, was an international men's ekiden (marathon relay race) held in Berlin on November 1990, 1991, and 1992.

The competition was initiated in 1990. In retrospect, the 1992 edition was described as the beginning of then-19-year-old Haile Gebrselassie's running career, as part of the Ethiopian team, he beat the defending 5000 m Olympic champion Dieter Baumann by 30 seconds on the 4th leg.[1]

The course record of 1:57:08 hours was set by Ethiopia in 1992.[2]

History

The race was predicated by the Staffellauf Potsdam–Berlin, a 25K run relay race between national-level clubs which was held from 1908 to 1969. Unlike the Staffellauf Potsdam–Berlin, the Berlin Ekiden was intended to be an international competition between teams representing countries. The race course runs through what was once the Berlin Wall, which would not have been possible if not for the fall of the Berlin Wall one year prior to the race beginning. It started at the Cecilienhof Palace and finished at the Brandenburg Gate.[3] It was sponsored by Japanese organizations and broadcast by TV Asahi to Japanese audiences. After 1992, the race was discontinued due to declining Japanese interest in Germany as a country.[4]

Winners

Berlin Ekiden winning teams
Ed.DateAthletesSplitTeamTimeRef
1st11 November 1990Badilu Kibret23:46 Ethiopia1:57:54[5]
Abraham Assefa21:42
Chala Kelile Tekelli29:05
Fita Bayissa13:42
Addis Abebe29:38
2nd10 November 1991Dube Jillo24:43 Ethiopia1:58:20[6]
Badilu Kibret21:13
Chala Kelile Tekelli28:49
Fita Bayissa14:22
Addis Abebe29:13
3rd8 November 1992Fita Bayissa23:39 Ethiopia1:57:08[7]
Abraham Assefa21:13
Worku Bikila28:59
Haile Gebrselassie13:24
Addis Abebe29:48

Stage bests

Best stage times per year
Year Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5
DistanceBest timeAthlete DistanceBest timeAthlete DistanceBest timeAthlete DistanceBest timeAthlete DistanceBest timeAthlete
1990 8.5 km23:46 Badilu Kibret (ETH) 7.8 km21:41 Tim Gannon (USA) 10.3 km29:05 Chala Kelile Tekelli (ETH) 5 km13:42 Fita Bayissa (ETH) 10.595 km29:38 Addis Abebe (ETH)
1991 24:41 Jesus Gonzalez (ESP) 20:52 William Sigei (KEN) 28:40 Stephan Freigang (GER) 14:22 Fita Bayissa (ETH) 29:13 Addis Abebe (ETH)
1992 23:39 Fita Bayissa (ETH) 21:13 Abraham Assefa (ETH) 28:53 Carsten Eich (GER) 13:24 Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) 29:48 Addis Abebe (ETH)

References

  1. ↑ "Brandenburg läuft: Haile und Potsdam". tagesspiegel.de (in German). Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  2. ↑ "INTERNATIONAL EKIDEN (MARATHON) RELAYS". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  3. ↑ Michael Reinsch (12 November 1990). "Die äthiopische Mannschaft gewinnt Stafettenlauf – Sturm und Drang beim Millionen-Rennen Potsdam-Berlin als japanisches Ereignis". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). p. 30.
  4. ↑ Karl-Heinz Bergmann (21 January 1993). "Anstoßpunkt – Unwetter aus New York". Berliner Zeitung (in German). p. 12.
  5. ↑ "ARRS recap for race #5876". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. "ARRS recap for race #5877". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. "ARRS recap for race #5878". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. "ARRS recap for race #5879". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. "ARRS recap for race #5880". Association of Road Racing Statisticians.
  6. ↑ "ARRS recap for race #5841". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. "ARRS recap for race #5842". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. "ARRS recap for race #5843". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. "ARRS recap for race #5844". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. "ARRS recap for race #5845". Association of Road Racing Statisticians.
  7. ↑ "ARRS recap for race #5782". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. "ARRS recap for race #5783". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. "ARRS recap for race #5784". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. "ARRS recap for race #5785". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. "ARRS recap for race #5786". Association of Road Racing Statisticians.
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