Amsterdam Marathon Course Record Falls as Diriba Runs 2:16:12
Ethiopia’s Buze Diriba broke the Amsterdam Marathon course record on Sunday, October 18, winning the women’s race in 2:16:12 on a wet day. Her compatriot Lemi Berhanu won the men’s race in 2:03:33, three seconds short of the men’s record. The race holds World Athletics Platinum Label status.
Diriba, 32, beat the previous Amsterdam Marathon course record of 2:16:52, set by Yalemzerf Yehualaw in 2024. The time cut more than three minutes from her previous best and moved her to 16th on the world all-time list. Defending champion Aynalem Desta was second in 2:17:06, a personal best, and Meseret Belete was third. All three Ethiopians ran personal bests.
Diriba took control after the 30-kilometre mark, where Desta stayed with her, then kicked and finished almost a minute ahead. It was her third marathon under 2:20 in 12 months.
In the men’s race, Berhanu and Kenya’s Nicholas Kipkorir broke clear of the field approaching the Vondelpark. Berhanu edged ahead late and won by six seconds. Kipkorir, a world half marathon silver medallist from Copenhagen last month, finished in 2:03:39. Patrick Mosin of Kenya was third in 2:03:58.
Lemi Berhanu, the 2016 Boston Marathon champion, took a minute off the personal best he set in Dubai in 2016. That earlier mark was 2:04:33. The depth was unusual: the top eight men all ran under 2:05, which World Athletics says has happened in only two other races. Kipkorir improved on his 2:06:07 from his Boston debut in April in only his second marathon.