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Coronavirus in sport: Berlin Marathon postponed

Tens of thousands of runners take part in the Berlin Marathon each year. Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele won the race for the second time in 2019, missing out on the world record by just two seconds.

Berlin Marathon

Bengaluru, April 22: The Berlin Marathon will not go ahead as per schedule on September 27 after Germany banned public gatherings of over 5,000 people until October 24 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the organisers confirmed.

The organisers did not specify if the event, at which the last seven men's world records have been set, would be postponed or cancelled altogether.

"We've learned from the press conference of the Berlin Senate on April 21, that according to the Containment Ordinance, all events with more than 5,000 persons will be prohibited until October 24," organisers said in a statement.

"This applies to many of our events, but especially to the Berlin Marathon, which can't take place on Septemebr 27 as planned.

"We'll now deal with the consequences of the official prohibition of our events, co-ordinate the further steps and inform you as soon as we can," the statement added.

Tens of thousands of runners take part in the Berlin Marathon each year. Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele won the race for the second time in 2019, missing out on the world record by just 2sec.

The London Marathon, which was scheduled to be held on April 26 has been postponed to October 4.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Story first published: Wednesday, April 22, 2020, 11:18 [IST]
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