Marathon World Champion comes from Hünenberg

The winner of last year's Swiss City Marathon Lucerne has won the World Championship race in her age group.
 

Doris Nagel-Wallimann crossed the finish line in Cape Town after 2 hours 48 minutes and 14 seconds - "a really slow time," as she remarked a little later with a smile. The physical challenges of the final quarter of the race were one explanation for this. Another reason was the constantly increasing temperatures and the unusually high change in elevation (230 metres in altitude).

A detailed look at the rankings shows, however, how impressive the performance of the runner from Hünenberg was. She finished 14th overall in the women's race, which was won by the Ethiopian Dera Dida Yami in 2:23:18 hours. But this meant that she was the top woman finisher from Europe – and world champion in her age group (40-44).

Doris Nagel-Wallimann (left, pictured here at the 2025 Swiss City Marathon in Lucerne) battled her way to the finish line despite the pain        Photo: Eveline Beerkircher

Knee pain and cramps
What makes Doris Nagel-Walliman's result particularly remarkable is that it came "after a difficult race." An "unfavourable footstep" shortly before Kilometre 30 caused "a sharp pain in my knee," she explained. The pain persisted until the end.

And as if that weren't enough, she also experienced muscle cramps starting at Kilometre 36. "Somehow, though, I managed to make it to the finish," she said after the race – "because I didn't want to disappoint my boys back home by giving up."

Doris Nagel wasn't the only exclamation mark from Central Switzerland in South Africa. Manuela Schär from Kriens also secured a victory. She won the women's wheelchair marathon race by a wide margin, in a strong time of 1:43:25 hours.