Driving rain and chilly winds Sunday did not deter thousands of people, young and old, professional and amateur, from participating in the world’s only marathon to span two continents in Turkey’s largest city Istanbul.
An estimated 100,000 people joined the 33rd edition of the Eurasia Marathon in various categories.
It is one of the few times in the year that one of the two iconic Bosphorus bridges connecting the Asian and European sides of Istanbul is opened to pedestrian traffic, Xinhua reported.
The highest interest was in the free walk, open to amateurs with about 80,000 people registering to participate in the event.
In the professional categories, prize money of $50,000 each was available for the winner in the men’s and women’s full marathon of 42km, $4,000 each for the winner in 15km run and $5,000each for the winners in the wheelchair marathon.
Kenya’s Vincent Kiplagat won the full marathon Sunday repeating his feat from last year in the men’s race while Alemitu Abera from Ethiopia won the women’ s event.
The 15km event was dominated by athletes from Ethiopia with Atsedu Tsegai winning the men’s event and Sosena Gezau taking top honour in the women’s race.
The run apart from spanning two continents also takes in some of Istanbul’ s famous landmarks along its route.
via Istanbul holds world’s only intercontinental marathon – Sport – DNA.
Hundreds of thousands amateur athletes as well as local and foreign visitors attended the 32th Intercontinental Istanbul Eurasian Marathon on Sunday, October 17.
This year’s marathon took place on a sunny Sunday afternoon. “Istanbul is Running” – the slogan of this year’s marathon brought together hundreds of thousands of participants. The 32th Intercontinental Istanbul Eurasian Marathon includes the Marathon, 15 Km, and the 8 Km Public Run.
The participation at the “Public Race”, organized as part of the Intercontinental Istanbul Eurasian Marathon was reported to be above the expected figure of 100.000 people. As in the last years’ events, 2010 edition of the marathon is attracted by many celebrities and locals who want to enjoy time on streets especially on the Bosphorus Bridge which is normally closed to pedestrians. Mr. Kadir Topbaş, the mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality also participated in the “Public Race” and he run together around a hundred thousand Istanbulities.
Participants of the 8 km “Public Race” which is organized as part of the Intercontinental Istanbul Eurasian Marathon got their t-shirts, medals and certificates of attendance prior to race at the stands in Dolmabahçe.
About 8000 local and foreign athletes from 84 countries participated in the 32th Intercontinental Istanbul Eurasian Marathon. Some of the participants competed in the 15 km race.
All events started on the Asian side of Istanbul, and ends on the European side, on route passing the most beautiful sights of the city. The finish of the Marathon and the 15 km is in Sultanahmet district, at the Hippodrome, one of the oldest sporting arenas of the world, decorated with many historical monuments including the 3500-year-old Egyptian Obelisk of Theodosius.
The Fun Run finishes in Dolmabahçe, between the Besiktas Inonu Stadium and the Dolmabahçe Palace, which served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1853 to 1922.
African Athletes Dominate Marathon
Bosphorus Bridge, Istanbul by Yurek Akbar
In men’s category, Kenya’s Vincent Kiplagat completed the race on the first rank with 2.10.39, followed by Ethiopian Dereje Yadette Woldegiorgis with 2.11.53 and Ethiopian Girma Assefa with 2.13.37 in the “marathon” event.
In women’s category, Ashu Kasım with 2.27.25, Alemitu Abera with 2.27.54 and Amane Gobena with 2.32.28, all from Ethiopia, placed the first three ranks respectively in the marathon.
In “15 km” men’s category, Abayneh Ayele Woldegiorgis from Ethiopia ranked the first, Sang Benard Cheruiyot from Kenya ranked the second and Workinhe Tesfa from Ethiopia ranked the third.
In “15 km” women’s category, Emily Chebet from Kenya ranked the first, Belaynesh Oljira from Ethiopia ranked the second, and Meryem Dogan from Turkey ranked the third.
In total, Ethiopia won eight and Kenya won three medals in “marathon” and “15 km” events in men’s and women’s categories.
A total of one million USD of prize was distributed to the athletes in the marathon.
