Keira D'Amato breaks the US record at the 50th Chevron Houston Marathon (© Kevin Morris)
US record-holder Keira D'Amato and Kenya's Nancy Jelagat are among the leading entries for the elite women's field at the BMW Berlin Marathon, a World Athletics Elite Platinum road race, on 25 September.
They will join athletes including world record-holder Eliud Kipchoge and defending champion Guye Adola in racing on the streets of the German capital, the elite men's field having been announced in July.
D'Amato clocked 2:19:12 to win the Chevron Houston Marathon in January and went on to finish eighth at the World Athletics Championships on home soil in Oregon, running 2:23:34. The 37-year-old has the fastest PB in the announced 21-strong women's field, one that features eight athletes with PBs under 2:21.
D'Amato's fellow 2:19 runner Jelagat finished second in last year's Berlin half marathon, running 1:05:21, and then won the Valencia Marathon in 2:19:31.
There will be plenty of competition to challenge them. Ethiopia's Gutemi Shone Imana ran her 2:20:11 PB in Dubai in 2020 and clocked 2:21:46 in Prague last year, while her compatriots Workenesh Edesa and Sisay Gola have respective PBs of 2:20:24 and 2:20:50, Gola's set when finishing second in Seville in February.
D'Amato will be joined by her compatriot Sara Hall, who sits third on the US marathon all-time list with her PB of 2:20:32 set in Arizona in December 2020. The 39-year-old recently finished fifth in the world marathon in Oregon and is also entered for the TCS New York City Marathon on 6 November.
Kenya's Maurine Chepkemoi and Vibian Chepkurui complete the list of sub-2:21 runners competing, respectively having achieved their PBs of 2:20:18 in Amsterdam in 2021 and 2:20:59 in Wien earlier this year.
Kenya's 2019 world 10,000m fourth-place finisher Rosemary Wanjiru and Ethiopia's Nigsti Haftu make their marathon debuts.
Elite women's field
Keira D'Amato (USA) 2:19:12
Nancy Jelagat (KEN) 2:19:31
Gutemi Shone Imana (ETH) 2:20:11
Maurine Chepkemoi (KEN) 2:20:18
Workenesh Edesa (ETH) 2:20:24
Sara Hall (USA) 2:20:32
Sisay Gola (ETH) 2:20:50
Vibian Chepkurui (KEN) 2:20:59
Tigist Abayechew (ETH) 2:22:45
Bekelech Gudeta (ETH) 2:22:56
Sayaka Sato (JPN) 2:23:27
Risper Chebet (UGA) 2:23:45
Yukari Abe (JPN) 2:24:02
Meseret Belete (ETH) 2:24:25
Lisa Weightman (AUS) 2:25:15
Natasha Wodak (CAN) 2:26:19
Kanako Takemoto (JPN) 2:26:23
Sonia Samuels (GBR) 2:28:04
Tigist Assefa (ETH) 2:34:01
Rosemary Wanjiru (KEN) Debut
Nigsti Haftu (ETH) Debut
