Press Release - Istanbul Marathon - 10/26/22

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                N Kolay Istanbul Marathon on 6th November:

            Istanbul Marathon targets Turkish Allcomers' Record

The course record and the Turkish allcomers' record will be targeted at the 
N Kolay Istanbul Marathon on 6th November. To achieve these goals for the 
men's race organisers have put together an elite field with very good 
strength in depth. Seven men are on the start list who feature personal 
bests of sub 2:08. Bahrain's Marius Kimutai heads the current list with a 
time of 2:05:47. In the women's race Kenyan Agnes Barsosio is the fastest 
on paper with a PB of 2:20:59. Turkey's premier marathon race, which 
uniquely starts on the Asian side of the Bosphorus and then leads the 
runners over the July 15 Martyrs Bridge into the European part of the city, 
will be staged in Istanbul for the 44th time. A total of 60,000 runners are 
expected to take part including races at shorter distances.

"The world's only intercontinental marathon is being conducted for the 44th 
time. In the race which starts in Asia and ends in Europe with the bridge 
connecting two continents, the participants enjoy Istanbul, the Bosphorus, 
and the historical peninsula of the 2000-year-old city with its finish in 
Sultanahmet Square, the historical center of Istanbul. A fast race is 
anticipated among the elite athletes competing in the race," said Renay 
Onur, the Race Director from Spor Istanbul. His organising team achieved a 
remarkable feat by staging the N Kolay Istanbul Marathon and its sister 
race, the N Kolay Istanbul Half Marathon, throughout the pandemic in 2020 
and 2021 with an exceptional effort. Both events are Elite Label Road Races 
of World Athletics, the international athletics federation. 

Back in 2019 Kenyan Daniel Kibet established the current record of 2:09:44 
while Turkey's allcomers' record currently stands at 2:09:27. These are the 
times organisers had in mind when they assembled the men's elite field. 
Former Kenyan Marius Kimutai ran his PB of 2:05:47 when he was third in 
Amsterdam in 2016. On two more occasions the 29 year-old achieved times 
faster than 2:07. Competing for Bahrain for the first time he took the 
Rotterdam Marathon with 2:06:04 in 2017 and a year ago he finished sixth in 
Barcelona with 2:06:54. Two other athletes on Istanbul's start list have 
run sub 2:07 times: Kenya's Samuel Kosgei, who is the former 25k world 
record holder (1:11:50 in Berlin in 2010), won the 2021 Barcelona Marathon 
with 2:06:04 and Ethiopia's Abayneh Ayele clocked 2:06:45 in Dubai where he 
was sixth in 2016. In the same year Ayele was fourth in the World Half 
Marathon Championships, where he just missed out in the fight for the 
bronze medal against Britain's Mo Farah. Both were given the same time of 
59:59. 

Tadesse Mamo is a runner who has shown very promising form earlier this 
year. The Ethiopian ran the best race of his career when he took second in 
Rome with 2:07:04, which was his first sub 2:10 time. Meanwhile Robert 
Kipkemboi returns to the N Kolay Istanbul Marathon where he was the 
runner-up a year ago. Showing one of his best performances he clocked 
2:10:23 in 2021 while his personal best is 2:07:09 from Seoul in 2019. The 
other two runners with PBs of sub 2:08 on the start list are Ethiopia's 
Alemayehu Mekonen and Evans Kiplagat of Azerbaijan with 2:07:23 and 2:07:46 
respectively. 

In contrast to the men's race Istanbul's world-class course record of 
2:18:35 set by Ruth Chepngetich in 2018 will most likely remain 
unchallenged. Fellow-Kenyan Agnes Barsosio is the fastest runner on the 
women's elite start. She clocked 2:20:59 when she finished second in Paris 
in 2017. While this was five years ago and she turned 40 earlier this year 
Barsosio showed excellent form this spring: She won the Nairobi Marathon, 
running 2:24:45 despite the high altitude. 

Three other athletes with personal bests of sub 2:27 have achieved strong 
results and PBs this spring: Sechale Dalasa was the winner of the Rome 
Marathon with 2:26:09 while fellow-Ethiopian Melesech Tsegaye clocked 
2:24:47 for fourth place in Milan. Despite her age of 34 Judith Jerubet is 
still a newcomer in international road running. She ran her first major 
race in 2021 and this year improved to 2:26:17 when she was third in Daegu, 
South Korea. 

Trying a comeback Turkey's national record holder Sultan Haydar 
surprisingly entered the N Kolay Istanbul Marathon more than six years 
after competing in the Rio Olympic Marathon where she finished in 111th 
position. The 35 year-old established the current national record of 
2:24:44 back in 2015 in Dubai. It will be interesting to see what Sultan 
Haydar can achieve on home soil in Istanbul after such a long break.

More information and online entry is available at: https://maraton.istanbul

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