Overview
- On Sunday Assefa ran a near–world‑record race and crossed the line first in 2:11:04 after passing the half in 1:04:57 and reaching 40 km about nine seconds under the standing record pace.
- She began feeling Achilles pain around kilometer 31, lost rhythm late in the race, and completed the final 1.5–2 kilometers visibly limping.
- Her management reported successful surgery to repair the right Achilles tendon in Munich and gave an initial recovery estimate of roughly six to seven months.
- Assefa’s goal in Berlin was to better Ruth Chepngetich’s 2:09:56 mark from Chicago 2024, a target complicated by Chepngetich’s later doping suspension.
- The injury will likely sideline Assefa through early 2027, complicate immediate record bids, and shift her season toward rehabilitation with a possible aim at London 2027.