By Andreas Vou
The ninth annual Limassol Marathon went down as a huge success as over 10,000 runners took part in the event on Sunday.
The first athlete to cross the finishing line was Ahmed Kazazoum with 2:46.05 on the clock. Second to finish was Michael Keane on 2:51.04 and third was Greece’s Vlasis Karavassilis with a time of 2:57.17.
Caroline Jackson from Great Britain was the first female competitor to finish in what was her first ever Limassol marathon and just her 12th marathon in her career. Second and third spots went to Yulia Kanava and Georgia Lalioti respectively.
However, there were no real winners and losers in an event which was always about the spectacle itself and what it meant for the town which saw a fantastic turnout.
Speaking at the beginning of the race, the President of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, congratulated all of those who were set to partake in the event.
“Honest sport, healthy competition and solidarity are just some of the ideals which make up (the motto) ‘fair play’ “and by participating in a marathon of 10,000 people serves this purpose.”
The event attracted a host of participants from around Europe and beyond – around 1,500 – with athletes from an estimated 53 nations including Brazil, Hong Kong, Australia, China, Japan and the United States.
The event was made up of six different categories: the 42-kilometre marathon was the first to begin from the Limassol pier at 9am, followed by the Half-Marathon, the 10-kilometre Health Race, the 5-kilometre City Race, the PrimeTel 5-kilometre Corporate Race, and the McDonald’s 1-kilometre Kids Race.
The marathon, accredited by the IAAF and AIMS, was made possible by the contribution of numerous organisations which is something that the president paid homage to in his speech.
“The Limassol International Marathon started just nine years ago with the participation of just 70 athletes and, this year, it has surpassed 10,000 entries as the last six years have been a very successful collaboration between city authorities like the municipality, the Chamber of Commerce, the Limassol Tourist Development Company, the (town’s sports association) GSO and the private sector.”
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