On September 23, 2023, 26-year-old Tigist Assefa shattered the Women's Marathon World Record in Berlin, Germany. The Ethiopian runner completed the 26.2-mile race (42 km) in 2hrs 11min 53 seconds — 2min 11sec faster than the previous record set by Brigid Kosgei in 2019. The achievement is even more impressive when considering that Assefa began her career running short distances on track. She only started running marathons in 2022.