Two time champion Bernard Koech returns to Hamburg

Two time champion Bernard Koech returns to the race and the Kenyan will not be the only one who comes back with great memories. Stephen Kissa ran a national record here and the Ugandan will be among the strong favourites. Germany’s former national record holder Samuel Fitwi could produce a strong performance and cause a surprise.

In 2025 it was surprisingly the Haspa Marathon Hamburg which recorded the best results of all German top marathon races. This reflected the strong development of the event in the past couple of years. “We are looking forward to another thrilling race. Hopefully we will get very fast times again and are able to continue our recent success story,” said chief organiser Frank Thaleiser. A total of 20,000 marathon runners have entered the jubilee edition of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg.

Bernard Koech is unbeaten on the streets of Hamburg. He raced the Haspa Marathon twice and on both occasions the Kenyan crossed the line first. In 2023 Koech tied his personal record here with 2:04:09. While this remains his PB, in the following year he won with 2:04:24. In spring last year Koech ran the Seoul Marathon where he was third in 2:05:50. “Hamburg is like a second home for me. I am really looking forward to come back once more,” said 38 year-old Bernard Koech.

Making it three victories out of three starts will come with quite a challenge for Koech. Another athlete who comes back with confidence is Stephen Kissa. The Ugandan ran a spectacular marathon debut in Hamburg, when he finished runner-up just a second behind Kenyan winner Cybrian Kotut in 2022. Kissa clocked 2:04:48 in his debut which was a national record at that time and still remains his PB. Abdisa Tola is another very strong African athlete who has the potential to go for victory. The 25 year-old Ethiopian, who is the younger brother of the 2024 Olympic Marathon Champion Tamirat Tola, won his debut marathon in Dubai with 2:05:42 in 2023. Last year he came close to this PB when he placed third in Osaka with 2:05:52.

Germany’s Samuel Fitwi might well challenge for a place on the podium if he can build similar form as in 2024. Two years ago he qualified for the Olympic Games where he then finished in a fine 15th position. Later in 2024 Fitwi caused an upset by breaking the German record with 2:04:56 in Valencia, improving the mark of Amanal Petros by two seconds. While this remains his PB he has lost the record to Petros in the meantime. “I am really looking forward to running the jubilee race in Hamburg,” said Samuel Fitwi, who trains in Addis Ababa.

Two more German runners are on the elite start list: Sebastian Hendel returns to Hamburg, where he placed tenth and ran his first sub 2:10:00 time two years ago (2:08:51). Since then he has improved his PB to 2:07:33. Aaron Bienenfeld, who clocked a promising 61:15 personal best at the Houston Half Marathon in January, will run his marathon debut in Hamburg on 26th April.