Running News Daily

Kenyan Daniel Kipkore Kibet on Sunday won the 41st Istanbul Marathon men's title breaking the course record

Ethiopian athlete Hirut Tibebu bagged the women's title in the run.

Kibet finished the transcontinental race in 2:9:44. Ethiopian athlete Yitayal Atnafu Zerihun came second at 2:9:57 and Kenyan Peter Kwemoi Ndorobo third at 2:10:9.

Tibebu won the women's title finishing at 2:23:40 with Ethiopian athlete Tigist Abayechew trailing at 2:24:15. Kenyan Maurine Chepkemoi came third at 2:24:16.

Turkish athletes Polat Kemboi Arikan came sixth at 2:12:57 in the men’s title and Busra Nur Koku came eighth in the women’s title.

A total of 63 elite athletes joined the Vodafone 41st Istanbul Marathon, which started at 06:00GMT from Istanbul's Asian side and ended in the European part of the city. The motto of the 2019 marathon is "Istanbul is yours. Don’t stop, run!"

The sports event has three categories, 42.2-kilometer (26.2-mile) marathon, 15-km run (9.3-mi), 8-km (4.9-mi) FunRun,  as well as a wheelchair competition.

In the 15-km run, Kenyan athlete Mathew Kimeli won the men’s title, while the women's title was bagged by Ethiopia's Tsigie Gebreselama.

Some 37,000 runners from 106 countries competed in the marathon, with 100,000 people attending the 8-km FunRun.

Wife of Paraguay's ambassador to Turkey Ceferino Adrian Valdez Peralta also joined the 15-km race.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency after the run, Celestina Diaz de Valdez said that it was her first time at the Istanbul Marathon and it was a "wonderful" feeling to cross to Europe from Asia.

She recalled that she previously joined the races in many countries such as Paraguay, Korea, US and South Africa, adding that she also plans to take part in next year's Istanbul marathon.

Valdez was the first woman who competed in Istanbul's race from Paraguay.