The men's 50km of Berlin was, among the last European Championships, the slowest one.
We have not recorded results so slow in the last 24 years of the Championships (seven editions).
Maybe it was the heat (but who writes recalls the editions of Barcelona, Budapest and Helsinki in which the heat was the master), maybe it was the course defined by some athlete "too muscular" (but the writer remembers that of Zurich, Munich and Helsinki, which in terms of difficulty for athletes were not sure "a walks in a forest"), the fact is that it has walked much more slowly and perhaps with completely different race strategies.
The following table shows the performances obtained by the first three athletes in the various editions
| Edition | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| | | | |
| Berlino 2018 | 3:46:32 | 3:47:27 | 3:47:59 |
| Zurigo 2014 | 3:32:33 (WR) | 3:36:21 | 3:37:41 |
| Barcelona 2010 | 3:40:37 | 3:42:24 | 3:43:26 |
| Goteborg 2006 | 3:41:39 | 3:42:48 | 3:43:26 |
| Munich 2002 | 3:36:39 | 3:40:16 | 3:44:33 |
| Budapest 1998 | 3:43:51 | 3:44:29 | 3:45:53 |
| Helsinki 1994 | 3:41:07 | 3:43:52 | 3:43:55 |
On the other hand, the following table shows the hypothetical positions of the first three classified of Berlin 2018 in the various previous editions.
| Edition | Position of 1st in 2018 | Position of 2nd in 2018 | Position of 3rd in 2018 |
| | | | |
| Berlino 2018 | 1° - 3:46:32 | 2° - 3:47:27 | 3° - 3:47:59 |
| Zurigo 2014 | 9° | 10° | 11° |
| Barcelona 2010 | 5° | 6° | 8° |
| Goteborg 2006 | 5° | 7° | 9° |
| Munich 2002 | 4° | 5° | 6° |
| Budapest 1998 | 4° | 6° | 7° |
| Helsinki 1994 | 7° | 9° | 11° |
If we think that Hartwig Gauder (GER) who won in Stuttgart in 1986 (3:40:55) would win this edition of the home championships with over 5 minutes of advantage, we see the reality of the current historical moment.
If we analyze for a moment the world list of 50km updated after Berlin 2018, we will see, with amazement, that in the first 20 World performances of the year only three of these were obtained in Berlin: that of Dmitriy Dziubin (BLR), that of Haward Haukenes (NOR) and that of Carl Dohmann (GER).
We conclude with the world list of the first 30 women in 50km updated after Berlin 2018.
The European women's movement in 50km is represented by 20 athletes on the first 30 of the World list. Eight of these marks were obtained in Berlin; how to say: if they are roses they will bloom.
Hartwig Gauder, Maurizio Damilano, Peter Frenkel and ex Coach Hans Joachim Pathus in Berlin 2018