Protesters halt Berlin Marathon with orange paint and try blocking course

The Berlin Marathon was crashed by members of the climate group, The Last Generation, on Sunday as activists soiled the pavement with orange paint and attempted to block runners from starting the race.

The eco-warriors broke out from the crowd and began spraying the road with orange paint as 45,000 athletes prepared to take to the course. Police and race volunteers were quick to react and swiftly apprehended the protestors before clearing the road of several stray buckets of paint.

A video posted to X (formerly Twitter) shows police tackling and arresting protestors after they cleared the barriers and attempted to wreak havoc on the event.

In a statement posted to their social media channels, The Last Generation wrote: “Warning colour on the track – we have to get out of the fossils by 2030 for a chance of survival.

“Do you want to see us again at the next big event or do you finally want to listen to us? It’s also about you and everyone you love!

“By the way: We are just as sorry to interrupt a craftsman’s everyday life as we are to interrupt a runner’s long-awaited competition. We are doing this because we are in dire straits. In existential danger!”

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Despite a chaotic start to proceedings, the race continued as planned with Ethiopian superstar Tigst Assefa breaking the women’s world record with a time of 2:11:53 to place first ahead of Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui and Magdalena Shauri of Tanzania. 

Meanwhile, in the men’s race, long-distance running legend Eliud Kipchoge recorded a record fifth victory at the World Athletics Platinum Label road race in the German capital. 

He was closely followed by Kenyan team-mate Vincent Kipkemo, who finished 31 seconds behind him. 

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