The first year of the marathon clearly confirmed its quality and potential

The winner of the marathon ran the fastest time in the Czech Republic, firmly establishing the exceptional standard and future promise of the event.

At the first Emil Zátopek Golden Marathon in Ostrava, African runners clocked top-tier times on a single-loop track that traversed eight city districts. The long straight sections of the track also helped improve performances at the Czech Women’s Run, held as part of the day-long event. In total, 1,400 participants participated in ten races, ranging from children’s runs to the full marathon.

At the first Emil Zátopek Golden Marathon in Ostrava, African runners clocked top-tier times on a single-loop track that traversed eight city districts. The long straight sections of the track also helped improve performances at the Czech Women’s Run, held as part of the day-long event. In total, 1,400 participants participated in ten races, ranging from children’s runs to the full marathon.

Kenyan runner Kennedy Ronoh impressed everyone with a phenomenal time of 2:10:05, which he ran with the help of a Kenyan pacer Hillary Maiyo. Ronoh’s performance validated both the speed and quality of the track, hinting at its potential to attract even more top runners from the Czech Republic and abroad. Another Kenyan Moses Kimulwo finished second in a solid 2:19:29. Czech runner Lukáš Kučera placed third, finishing in 2:31:10. He even managed to overtake the leading women.

One of the Slovakian pacers stated that „The long incline was really demanding and really drained you, but overall the track is fast and I really liked it“.

Regarding the women's results, Pascaline Jelagat and Milicent Jamutai, both running their first marathon and their first race in Europe, ran shoulder to shoulder for the entire race, only for the winner to be decided in the final sprint, where Jelagat surged to claim victory with a time of 2:32:28. Beatrice Chebulet, winner of this year’s Belfast Marathon, placed third with a time of 2:40:58, while the top Czech woman, Barbara Macurová, finished fourth in 2:46:02, which is remarkable, considering it was only the third marathon of her career.

“I am thrilled with the times we saw today. As someone born in Ostrava, I am incredibly proud that the track allowed such great performances. We even had perfect weather. It was a fantastic day filled with running and a great atmosphere”, said race ambassador Alena Peterková.

“We have successfully combined two events; both the stadium and the city streets were full of runners of all ages and levels of performance. The marathon fulfilled all our expectations for its first year. Big challenges lie ahead of us, but for now we will take a few days to rest and then focus on preparing the second year of the marathon, scheduled for next autumn”, said Oldřich Zvolánek, head of the organizing committee.

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