Thrilling races in Istanbul

29 year-old Kenyan Kilimo crossed the line in 2:10:12 after a duel with the defending champion Dejene Debela in the final uphill section of the race. Last year’s winner was second with 2:10:23 while fellow-Ethiopian Sufaro Woliyi took third in 2:10:26. The women’s race produced the closest finish in the history of the race: 22 year-old Bizuager Aderra became the surprise champion with a personal best of 2:26:19. She was just two seconds ahead of fellow-Ethiopian Sofia Assefa. Joan Kilimo of Kenya, who is not related to the men’s winner, took third with 2:26:36.

Organisers of the 47th edition of the event registered around 6,000 entries for the marathon. Adding races at shorter distance the total number of runners was 42,000. The Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Marathon is a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race and the major marathon of the country.

The men ran a relatively even pace for well over the first half. After passing through 10k in 30:41 a group of 16 athletes including four pacemakers then reached the half way point in 64:41. But the attempt to break the six year old 2:09:44 course record of Kenya’s Daniel Kibet then suddenly stumbled when the pace dropped considerably and the 25th kilometer was run in 3:15. Splits became inconsistent and a tactical race developed. With temperatures rising to around 20 Celsius it was now about victory and not about the course record. Spectators and those watching the live stream witnessed a thrilling contest, when five runners entered the final steep uphill section which is just less than a mile long.

Rhonzas Kilimo, Dejene Debela, Sufaro Woliyi, Kenya’s Isaac Too and Hüseyin Can of Turkiye formed the leading group. The runner from Turkiye, who surprisingly had pushed the pace a couple of times before, was the first to fall behind. But he was later rewarded with a personal best of 2:10:58 and a strong fifth place. After the first part of the hill Too and Woliyi could not hold on. With around one kilometer to go Rhonzas Kilimo, who has a 2:06:09 PB, moved slightly ahead of defending champion Debela. The Ethiopian was not beaten yet, but Kilimo was able to keep the pace high despite the uphill section. After covering the 42nd kilometre in 3:02 he crossed the line in 2:10:12.

“I had no clue about the uphill section at the end of the race, it was a surprise to me. But I train in hilly areas around Iten,“ said Rhonzas Kilimo, who lives in Iten with his wife and three children. “This was my biggest win so far“, said the Kenyan, who ran his PB when he was runner-up in the Seoul Marathon in 2024. “My next goal is to achieve a 2:03 time when I run on a fast course.“

The women’s race provided even more drama in the late stages of the marathon. After split times of 33:38 (10k) and 71:22 (half marathon) a group of five women formed the lead behind two pacemakers. Ethiopians Bizuager Aderra, Tigst Getnet, Gete Dukale and Sofia Assefa, who was the silver medallist in the Olympic Steeple Chase final in 2012, were joined by Kenya’s Joan Kilimo. When they passed 25k in 1:24:45 they were still on course for a finishing time of sub 2:23:00. However as in the men’s race the pace dropped in the final third of the race when it was warming up in the sunshine.

With around eight kilometers to go Assefa fell behind a couple of seconds. But the Ethiopian managed to close the gap and get back to the group while Gete Dukale lost contact. With one kilometer to go four women were still in contention for victory. Getnet and Kilimo dropped back next while Assefa then edged slightly ahead of Aderra. But it was youngster Aderra, who was stronger. Taking the lead again with 400 m to go she opened a small gap when she could see the finishing at Sultan Ahmet Park. “This was the biggest win of my life and a personal best as well,” said Bizuager Aderra, who had a PB of 2:28:27 from Rabat earlier this year. “My next goal will be to achieve a time of sub 2:20,“ said the 22 year-old winner, who ran her seventh marathon in Istanbul.