(source: TASR)
THE 88th International Peace Marathon held in Košice on October 2 drew throngs of runners and spectators. The event is the second oldest marathon in the world and the oldest in Europe and this year’s race also commemorated the 50th anniversary of the 1961 victory of Ethiopian Abebe Bikila, the first two-time Olympic marathon champion.
African marathon runners again finished at the top in this year’s marathon, the TASR newswire wrote, with Imrich Magyari from Nové Zámky being the best Slovak runner in the men’s race, finishing in 8th place, while Slovak Katarína Berešová finished 5th in the women’s marathon. The first seven places in the men’s marathon were divided among Kenyan and Ethiopian runners while Ukrainian winner Maryna Damancevičová and Berešová broke the Ethiopian-Kenyan monopoly in the women’s top ten.
The marathon also included a half-marathon, a cycling marathon and several other disciplines.
The race attracted some Slovak politicians, including Foreign Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda and Košice Mayor Richard Raši who ran with three others in a relay. Raši was pleased that the premier marathon had again pulled crowds of people to his city along with its accompanying music marathon and other cultural events. No new records were set at the marathon and the runners attributed this to poor weather conditions.
