The strongest women’s elite field in the history of the Frankfurt Marathon will compete on October 26, 2025. Organisers have assembled a field that includes seven women with personal bests of sub 2:23:00 for the 42nd edition of the event. Kenya’s Sharon Chelimo is the fastest on the list with a personal record of 2:19:33.
“We are delighted that we managed to get Sharon Chelimo on the start list at short notice,” said race director Jo Schindler. “We now have an exceptionally strong women’s field, so we can expect an exciting and fast race.”
Last year’s race was highlighted by Ethiopian Hawi Feysa, who set a new course record of 2:17:25. Chelimo, now 31, previously competed in Frankfurt two years ago, finishing with a time of 2:22:07.
Chelimo made her breakthrough this spring with a surprise victory at the Barcelona Marathon. The Kenyan ran 2:19:33, improving her personal best by more than two and a half minutes.
Etagegne Woldu (PB: 2:20:03), Buze Diriba (2:20:22), Aminet Ahmed (2:21:24), Tsige Haileslase (all Ethiopia/2:22:10), as well as Kenyans Linet Masai (2:21:01) and Catherine Cherotich (2:22:42) are the other women who have already achieved times of sub 2:23:00, and have confirmed their participation in this year’s marathon.
Additionally, Betty Chepkemoi is one to watch. The Kenyan was the winner of this year’s Vienna City Marathon, running a PB of 2:24:14 despite freezing conditions. Two debutants could also produce fine performances: Ethiopians Ayal Dagnachew and Yalemget Yaregal have promising potential with half-marathon PBs of 67:08 and 66:27, respectively.
The organisers expect to see a record number of registrants. Based on current figures, the previous record from 2012 – when there were 16,034 entries – is likely to be surpassed.
