Biwott targets third marathon victory, Yimer goes for personal best
Benard Biwott has a clear goal: “My aim is to win,” says the 24 year-old Kenyan. If he does so, he would spoil the party of German stars Amanal Petros, Samuel Fitwi and Richard Ringer. Three marathons, two victories and a strong personal best of 2:05:25: Benard Biwott’s confidence is no fluke.
He started his marathon career in 2024 with a bang. As a debutant he won the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon and with a time of 2:05:54 recorded the seventh-fastest time ever run in this race. He was also right up there at the front in his second marathon: in spring of 2025 he triumphed in Paris and improved to 2:05:25.
“I am ready to run fast. A time of 2:04 should be possible. I will definitely be keeping up with the leading group,” he says confidently ahead of Sunday’s race.
However following his victories in Frankfurt and Paris, he was unable to maintain that high standard in his third marathon. In May 2026 he finished ninth in Cape Town with 2:07:34. “I had a knee injury before and was not in the very best of form,” he explains.
Biwott prepared for Frankfurt in his home town of Iten as part of a small training group. His dream is to secure a third marathon victory in his fourth race over this distance. Does he want to spoil the German party? “Yes, exactly,” he says with a smile.
Zeineba Yimer: The favourite in the women’s race
Zeineba Yimer tops the women’s start list with her personal best of 2:18:47. The 28 year-old Ethiopian is in strong form and aims to beat her personal best. “I know the course in Frankfurt is fast. I want to make the most of that,” she says.
It was only this spring that she set her personal best, finishing third in Barcelona. Four weeks ago she was hoping to improve on that in Berlin. However due to stomach problems she had to pull out at the 33 k mark. “I was in good form. Now I want to show what I am capable of in Frankfurt,” she said.
Zeineba Yimer enjoyed international success already as a very young athlete. After finishing tenth in the junior women’s race at the 2017 World Cross Country Championships in Kampala (Uganda), she competed at the World Half Marathon Championships in Valencia in 2018, where she came fifth at the age of 19.
In 2019 she continued her rise. Having won silver in the 10,000 m at the African Games, she ran her marathon debut in Valencia in December. She finished fifth and clocked a time of sub 2:20:00 (2:19:28) at the very first attempt.
In 2020 Zeineba Yimer finished fourth at the World Half Marathon Championships in Gdańsk (Poland), improving to 65:39. The Ethiopian achieved the biggest victory of her career to date in the spring of 2023: she won the Barcelona Marathon in 2:19:44, setting a course record. In the same year she finished fourth in Berlin with 2:19:04. A knee injury set her back in 2024, but she made a strong comeback.
Zeineba Yimer comes from South Wollo in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. She lives in Addis Ababa and is a member of Getamesay Molla’s training group. A close training partner is Heven Hailu Desse, the current winner of the Seoul Marathon in 2:19:09. Through her management team, she also knows marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge personally. “From him you learn that you have to be very patient and work consistently towards your goals. That’s what I want to do too.”
