Sofia Marathon

The Sofia Marathon is an annual road marathon hosted by Sofia, Bulgaria, since 1983.[9][1] The marathon is categorized as a Bronze Label Road Race by World Athletics.[10] During race weekend, a half marathon, a 10K, and a fun run of length 3 km (1.9 mi) are also offered.[11][12]

Sofia Marathon
Start and finish area at Battenberg Square in 2019
DateOctober
LocationSofia, Bulgaria
Event typeRoad
DistanceMarathon
Primary sponsorWizz Air
Established1983 (1983)[1]
Official sitehttps://www.marathonsofia.com
Participants387 finishers (2020)[2][lower-alpha 1]
525 finishers (2019)[5][lower-alpha 2]
390 finishers (2017)[7]
223 finishers (2015)[8]

History

The inaugural marathon was held on 22 May 1983.[9][13]

The 2020 edition of the marathon, held on 11 October 2020, was notable for having taken place during the coronavirus pandemic, despite marathons in Riga and nearby Bucharest, scheduled for the same weekend, being cancelled the day before they were to occur.[14][15][16][17][lower-alpha 3] In addition, during the start of the 10K race, Serbian Olympian Olivera Jevtić was deliberately pushed by another runner, who knocked her down.[19][20][21] Jevtić struck her head on the ground, lost consciousness, and suffered a hematoma on her head as a result.[22][19] Furthermore, both runners that were originally declared winners, Viktoriya Khapilina and Youssef Sbaai, were later provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) because their in-competition samples had tested positive for erythropoietin.[2][3] Khapilina's Sofia performance was later disqualified by the AIU.[4][lower-alpha 4]

Course
External images
Course map of full marathon in 2015[24]
Course map of full marathon in 2017[25]
Course map of full marathon in 2019[26]
Congregating at the start, which was between Prince's Garden and Vasil Levski National Stadium in 2017

The marathon begins and ends on Battenberg Square, in front of the National Art Gallery.[27] It consists of two loops, which half marathoners run once.[27]

The course first briefly heads west before turning north on Maria Luiza Boulevard.[27] Shortly after passing Lions' Bridge, the marathon hits a turnaround point and heads back south, past St Nedelya Church.[27] After encountering the Court House on Vitosha Boulevard, runners then head east until they hit Georgi Rakovski Street, then take that street northeast to Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard.[27] Marathoners then head southeast along the boulevard past the National Assembly to turn north onto Vasil Levski Boulevard in front of Sofia University.[27]

The course next has an out-and-back leg of roughly 15 km (9 mi) in length that largely stays on Knyaz Aleksandar Dondukov Boulevard, Vladimir Vazov Boulevard, and Botevgrad Highway, with a turnaround point near the northeastern limits of the city, past the airport.[27] After returning to Vasil Levski Boulevard in the city center, runners then turn west to run past Alexander Nevsky Cathedral before returning to Battenberg Square to complete the half marathon loop.[27]

Winners
Ed. Date Male Winner Time Female Winner Time Rf.
1 1983.05.22  Stanimir Nenov (BUL) 2:24:54  Nedyalka Bakalova (BUL) 3:19:12 [13]
— marathon distance not held from 2009 to 2011 due to financial and infrastructural issues[1]
29[lower-alpha 5] 2012.10.21  Shaban Mustafa (BUL) 2:28:21  Anita Krasteva (BUL) 2:55:43 [13][9][28]
30[lower-alpha 6] 2013.10.06  Lahcen Mokraji (MAR) 2:22:42  Silvia Danekova (BUL) 2:52:27 [34][35][32]
31[lower-alpha 7] 2014.10.12  Edwin Kipchumba (KEN) 2:19:06  Zefre Worku (ETH) 2:40:53 [9][38][39][36]
32[lower-alpha 8] 2015.10.04  Samuel Demie (ETH) 2:16:41  Rebecca Korir (KEN) 2:32:35 [8][13][40]
33[lower-alpha 9] 2016.10.09  Gudeta Biratu (ETH) 2:15:45  Belaynesh Yigezu (ETH) 2:39:39 [44][42]
2017.10.15  Samson Barmao (KEN) 2:14:49  Ruth Matebo (KEN) 2:40:30 [7][45]
2018.10.14  Stephen Kipchirchir (KEN) 2:14:06  Ruth Matebo (KEN) 2:35:21 [46]
2019.10.13  Hosea Tuei (KEN) 2:15:59  Shegae Maeregu (ETH) 2:35:36 [5][47]
2020.10.11  Youssef Sbaai (MAR)[lower-alpha 10] 2:13:03  Naom Jebet (KEN)[lower-alpha 11] 2:28:41 [48]

Notes
  1. The official results list 388 finishers, but both runners that were originally declared winners were later provisionally suspended for failing an in-competition drug test.[2][3] One was eventually disqualified.[4]
  2. The official results list 526 finishers, but Hassan Laqouahi, who originally placed fifth, was later disqualified for failing an in-competition drug test.[5][6]
  3. The Riga Marathon, a two-day event, was cancelled on Friday, and the Bucharest Marathon, already stripped down to only the marathon race scheduled for Sunday, and limited to only professional runners, was cancelled on Saturday.[16][17][18]
  4. Sbaai's case appears to be pending.[23]
  5. The 2012 edition of the race had been considered the 29th Sofia Marathon by the race organizers, while the Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS) considered it to be the 27th running of the marathon.[28][29]
  6. The 2013 edition of the race was acknowledged by the race organizers as the 28th time the traditional marathon was run in Sofia.[30] ARRS also used the latter ordinal for the 2013 race, and considered it the 28th running of the marathon.[31] In contrast, several reliable sources, including Bulgarian National Radio and TV+, reported the 2013 race as the 30th anniversary edition (Bulgarian: "30-ото юбилейно издание") of the Sofia Marathon.[32][33]
  7. The 2014 edition of the race was acknowledged by the race organizers as both the 31st Sofia Marathon and the 29th time the traditional marathon was run in Sofia.[36][1] ARRS also used the latter ordinal for the 2014 race, and considered it the 29th running of the marathon.[37]
  8. The 2015 edition of the race had been considered the 32nd Sofia Marathon by the race organizers, while ARRS considered it to be the 30th running of the marathon.[40][41]
  9. The 2016 edition of the race had been considered the 33rd Sofia Marathon by the race organizers, while ARRS considered it to be the 31st running of the marathon.[42][43]
  10. Sbaai was provisionally suspended by the AIU for failing an in-competition drug test.[3] Race organizers stated that they would wait for World Athletics' final decision before reassigning rankings.[3]
  11. Viktoriya Khapilina crossed the finish line first, but was disqualified for failing an in-competition drug test.[48][4]

References
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  2. "Results". my1.raceresult.com. 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  3. "Sofia Marathon winners provisionally suspended by AIU for doping violations". www.insidethegames.biz. December 1, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19.
  4. "Disciplinary process" (PDF). www.athleticsintegrity.org. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  5. "Results" (PDF). my2.raceresult.com. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  6. "Global List of Ineligible Persons | Athletics Integrity Unit". www.athleticsintegrity.org. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19.
  7. "Data" (PDF). marathonsofia.com. 2015. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  8. "Data" (PDF). marathonsofia.com. 2015. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  9. "Sofia Marathon". arrs.run. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19.
  10. "World Athletics Label Road Races Archive of Past Events | World Athletics". September 2, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-09-02.
  11. "Marathon Sofia | Marathon Sofia * Маратон София". www.marathonsofia.com. Archived from the original on 2020-12-21.
  12. "Marathon Sofia | Marathon Sofia * Маратон София". www.marathonsofia.com. Archived from the original on 2020-12-21.
  13. "Победители в Софийския маратон – Списание АТЛЕТИКА". www.atletikabg.com. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19.
  14. "Permission refused for Belgrade Marathon | AIMS | Race news". aims-worldrunning.org. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19.
  15. "Bucharest, Riga suffer last-minute cancellation | AIMS | Race news". October 17, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-10-17.
  16. "Government decides to cancel Riga Marathon | News | LETA". October 11, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-10-11.
  17. "Bucharest Marathon: Professional runners' race canceled, virtual event goes on | Romania Insider". October 24, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-10-24.
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  19. "Ovo je čovek koji je napao Oliveru Jevtić: Hvalio se na Instagramu da je dobro završio trku!". Telegraf.rs. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19.
  20. "Боян Вачев, който блъсна сръбкинята Оливера Йевтич на маратона в София, с мейл до медиите - Образование". Novini.bg. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19.
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  22. "Šokantna snimka: Manijak napao dvostruku osvajačicu Zagrebačkog maratona!". www.vecernji.hr. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19.
  23. "Athletics Integrity Unit". www.athleticsintegrity.org. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19.
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  26. "Затварят централни улици и булеварди заради маратон". Archived from the original on 2019-10-16.
  27. "Data" (PDF). www.marathonsofia.com. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  28. https://web.archive.org/web/20131227232828im_/http://maratonsofia.com/image-149-656-350-image.jpg
  29. https://web.archive.org/web/20200608085155/https://arrs.run/MaraList/ML_2012.htm
  30. https://web.archive.org/web/20131011050620/http://maratonsofia.com/regulation
  31. https://web.archive.org/web/20200608085155/https://arrs.run/MaraList/ML_2013.htm
  32. https://archive.is/20201222155004/https://bnr.bg/post/100074319/lasen-mokradji-specheli-30-oto-ubileino-izdanie-na-maratona-na-sofiya
  33. https://archive.is/20201222155306/http://www.tvplus.bg/index.php?p=news&id=15536
  35. https://archive.is/20201222164653/https://worldathletics.org/athletes/bulgaria/silvia-danekova-14268739
  36. https://archive.is/20201219161836/https://www.marathonsofia.com/?p=745
  37. "ML_2014". December 19, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19.
  38. "Kenyan runner wins Sofia Marathon". bnr.bg. Archived from the original on 2020-12-22.
  39. "Zefre WORKU | Profile". www.worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19.
  40. https://web.archive.org/web/20160821152716if_/http://marathonsofia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Sofiq-Maraton-2015232.JPG
  41. "ML_2015". June 8, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-06-08.
  42. https://web.archive.org/web/20201219212605if_/https://www.marathonsofia.com/wp-content/uploads/photo-gallery/09.10._2016._Maraton_20168.JPG
  43. "ML_2016". December 19, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19.
  44. "Data" (PDF). marathonsofia.com. 2015. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  45. "Samson BARMAO | Profile". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19.
  46. "Events Calendar | World Athletics". www.worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19.
  47. "Shegae MAEREGU | Profile". www.worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19.
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