THOUSANDS JOIN IN ANNUAL FUN AND RUN ISTANBUL MARATHON
The Istanbul Marathon, the world’s only transcontinental road race, hosted some 86 elite athletes this year. Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich claimed the women’s title, while a French athlete of Kenyan origin, Abraham Kiprotich, won the men’s category
THE ANNUAL Istanbul Marathon was realized yesterday with some 86 elite athletes, 24 of whom are Turkish, participating in the IAAF Gold Label Road Race while tens of thousands of people also ran for fun in the world’s only cross-continental marathon passing over the July 15 Martyrs Bridge.
KENYA’S Ruth Chepngetich and French athlete of Kenyan origin Abraham Kiprotich claimed the women’s and men’s title in the 39th Vodafone Istanbul Marathon yesterday. Some 86 elite athletes, 24 of whom were from Turkey, participated in the IAAF Gold Label Road Race. Tens of thousands of people also ran the world’s only cross-continental marathon. Chepngetich covered the 46-kilometer course in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 36 seconds. She was followed by another Kenyan athlete, Visiline Jepkesho who clocked 2:22:40, shedding three seconds off her personal best of 2:21:37 set in Paris two years ago. Ethiopian Letebrhan Hayley came in third with a timing of 2:25:14.
In the men’s category, Abraham Kiprotich won the title as he clocked 2:11:22. Kenyan Jacob Kendagor was the first runner-up, completing the run in 2:11:27, while Ethiopian Bazu Worku, finished third in 2:11:39.
The race had four other categories aside from the marathon including 15-kilometer, 10-kilometer, and 8-kilometer events plus a race for wheelchair-bound participants.
The starting point of the marathon was the Asian side of Istanbul’s July 15 Martyrs Bridge (formerly the Bosporus Bridge) and ended at the historic Sultanahmet Square on the city’s European side. This year’s motto was: “We are running for the future of our children.”
The total prize money for the race was $1 million. Vodafone was the main sponsor of the race organized by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and Spor Istanbul.
The 39th edition of the race not only featured a strong elite field but also offered a less undulating course following some slight adjustments after a recent re-measurement.
The event keeps its “intercontinental” concept, starting on the Asian side of the city, finishing in the historical peninsula of the Sultanahmet district, where the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia are located, and the runners still coped with the two-kilometer uphill stretch before the finish line to grab a share of the prize purse.
The men’s race record in Istanbul is 2:10:42, a time also standing as the Turkish all-comers record since it was set by Kenya’s Vincent Kiplagat in 2010. The men’s elite field this year included 14 sub-2:10 runners. The fastest ever athlete on the start line was Bazu Worku of Ethiopia who has a 2:05:25 from Berlin in 2010. The 27year old ran 2:08:48 this year in Prague where he finished second.
Elsewhere, thousands of runners also took part in an international marathon in Beirut yesterday in a show of support for Lebanon’s resigned prime minister, Saad Hariri. Organized by the Beirut Marathon Association, the annual event kicked off in the Lebanese capital with the participation of more than 48,000 athletes from Lebanon and around the world. Meanwhile, Samuel Kalalei has won the Athens Marathon, beating Milton Rotich by just over two minutes in a Kenyan sweep of the top five.