Bernard Koech, the two-time winner of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg, his training partner Kennedy Kimutai, as well as fellow Kenyans Rebecca Tanui and Marion Kibor, are among the top favorites for the 40th anniversary race of Germany’s biggest spring marathon this Sunday. The strong Kenyan quartet, introduced today at a press conference at Hamburg’s Intercity Hotel, is prepared for a fast race.
“I’m very happy to be able to start again in Hamburg,” said Bernard Koech, who has competed twice in the Haspa Marathon Hamburg and won both races. In 2023, he triumphed with a course record, setting his still-current personal best of 2:04:09. A year later, he successfully defended his title. “I’ve trained well and ran up to 200 kilometers per week. My goal is to win in Hamburg for the third time on Sunday,” said the 38-year-old, who still feels in top shape even after many years as an elite athlete: “Experience plays a big role in the marathon. I may be 38, but that’s just a number,” said Koech, who aims to attack his personal best on Sunday. The pacemakers are expected to cover the first half of the race in 62:00 minutes.
With Kennedy Kimutai, a training partner and friend of Bernard Koech has joined the Hamburg elite field at short notice, which will likely make the pace chase a bit easier for Koech on Sunday. The 26-year-old, who has a personal best of 2:05:27 and has already achieved a world-class half marathon time of 58:28, was originally scheduled to run the Boston Marathon last Monday. However, due to visa issues, he will now compete in Hamburg. “Bernard has won here twice, so I also wanted to run in Hamburg. We will certainly support each other,” said Kimutai, who has recently been in strong form, winning the Paris Half Marathon at the beginning of March.
Rebecca Tanui approaches the Haspa Marathon Hamburg with clear goals: “I want to win and set a personal best,” said the 33-year-old Kenyan, whose personal record stands at 2:21:08. Tanui has shown remarkable consistency in the marathon recently. She has won three of her five races—Venice in 2023, Košice in 2024, and Mersin (Turkey) last December—and also finished third (2024) and second (2025) in Vienna. “I would like to run under 2:20:00 for the first time in Hamburg and I’m optimistic that it will work,” she said.
Marion Kibor returns to Hamburg with fond memories. It was here that the Kenyan delivered her best marathon performance to date three years ago: she finished fifth and ran her current personal best of 2:22:35. “I hope I can run another personal best in Hamburg on Sunday,” said the 31-year-old. “I plan to stay with the leading group and will try to achieve a time under 2:20:00. I know the course is fast.”
