In Berlin, 8093 skaters participated in the marathon, making it, once again, the world's largest inline skating event (300.000 people were looking to their champions along the race). During the marathon, groups of skaters tried frequently to break away from the lead packs and reach the finish line before the mass finish. But the lead packs chased hard and fast and caught all the breakaway attempts. In the end the race came down to large field sprints. In the men's sprint, Italians finished first, second and third. Behind Saggiorato was Bont's Francesco Zangarini and then Saggiorato's teammate Massimiliano Presti. The top seven men all finished with the same time: 1 hour, 1 minute and 21 seconds. It was the fastest time posted in the Berlin Marathon since 2000.