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.

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

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. 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.

Winners

Berlin Ekiden winning teams

Ed.	Date	Athletes	Split	Team	Time	Ref
1st	11 November 1990	Badilu Kibret	23:46	Ethiopia	1:57:54
		Abraham Assefa	21:42
		Chala Kelile Tekelli	29:05
		Fita Bayissa	13:42
		Addis Abebe	29:38
2nd	10 November 1991	Dube Jillo	24:43	Ethiopia	1:58:20
		Badilu Kibret	21:13
		Chala Kelile Tekelli	28:49
		Fita Bayissa	14:22
		Addis Abebe	29:13
3rd	8 November 1992	Fita Bayissa	23:39	Ethiopia	1:57:08
		Abraham Assefa	21:13
		Worku Bikila	28:59
		Haile Gebrselassie	13:24
		Addis Abebe	29:48

Stage bests

Best stage times per year

Year	Stage 1			Stage 2			Stage 3			Stage 4			Stage 5
	Distance	Best time	Athlete	Distance	Best time	Athlete	Distance	Best time	Athlete	Distance	Best time	Athlete	Distance	Best time	Athlete
1990	8.5 km	23:46	Badilu Kibret (ETH)	7.8 km	21:41	Tim Gannon (USA)	10.3 km	29:05	Chala Kelile Tekelli (ETH)	5 km	13:42	Fita Bayissa (ETH)	10.595 km	29:38	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)

External links

• Team results archive