Lithuania’s Sorokin wins Greek ultra-marathon

Czech Brunner takes 2nd, home hope Sideridis 3rd

SPARTI, Greece, Sept 30, (AFP): Lithuanian Aleksandr Sorokin celebrated his 36th birthday in style Saturday by storming to a maiden victory in the historical 246km Spartathlon race.

Sorokin clocked 22hr 07min 22sec in the ultra race, Czech Radek Brunner taking second in 22:48.39 while home hope Nikolaos Sideridis rounded out the podium (22:58.01). The first woman across the finish line, and sixth overall, was Patrycia Bereznowska of Poland in 24:47.07, while Hungary’s Zsuzsanna Maraz finished 10th (25:42.33).

The Spartathlon race traces the classical route of Pheidippides, an Athenian messenger sent to Sparta in 490 BC to seek help against the Persians in the Battle of Marathon.

It remains one of the world’s toughest races, run over rough tracks, crossing vineyards and olive groves, steep hillsides and, most challenging of all, the 1,200m ascent and descent of Mount Parthenion in the dead of the night.

The 35th edition of the race started at the Acropolis in Athens on Friday with 369 runners from 50 countries, and ended in the southern Greek town of Sparta.

British RAF Wing Commander John Foden had the idea for the creation of the Spartathlon in 1982 when he ran the course in 36 hours. A year later the first Spartathlon was organised with the

Sorokin

participation of 45 runners from 12 countries.

1. Aleksandr Sorokin (LTU) 22hr 07min 22sec, 2. Radek Brunner (CZE) 22:48.39, 3. Nikolaos Sideridis (GRE) 22:58.01, 4. Yoshihiko Ishikawa (JPN) 23:20.06, 5. Sebastian Bialobrzeski (POL) 24:29.29, 6. Patrycia Bereznowska (POL) 24:47.07 — first female, 7. Lukasz Sagan (POL) 24:50.19, 8. Nicolas Cointepas (FRA) 24:55.56, 9. Takayoshi Shigemi (JPN) 25:37.06, 10. Zsuzsanna Maraz (HUN) 25:42.33 — second female