Berlin Marathon winner Tigst Assefa sustained a "completely destroyed" right Achilles tendon during Sunday's race and has since undergone surgery for the rupture. The 29-year-old continued to run despite the injury, completing the course in 2:11:04.
Her representative, Gianni Demadonna, stated on Tuesday that Assefa began experiencing pain around the 31km mark, with the injury becoming more severe at the 40km point. She was flown to Munich and then transported to Murnau for "very complex surgery" after collapsing at the finish line.
Demadonna indicated that Assefa is scheduled to see another doctor in Munich on Thursday to assess the surgery's outcome and begin her recovery. He suggested she might be able to start running in three months and potentially compete in another marathon, possibly the London Marathon 2027, in about seven months, though he added that it is "difficult to say now."