Course record at the anniversary marathon – victories for the Kenyans Kiplagat and Rotich

For the 10th time in the 10th edition, a Kenyan won the men's marathon in Salzburg. With his final time of 2:14:16 hours, Eliud Kiplagat broke the two-year-old course record of his compatriot Chelokoi by 34 seconds and thus provided the sporting highlight of the day at the anniversary. The Kenyan double was perfected by John Kipkemoi Kirui, who crossed the finish line as second fastest just under a minute and a half after the winner. Third place went to fellow favorite Lemawork Ketema Weldearegaye from Ethiopia, who collapsed ten kilometers before the end and finished a good nine minutes after the winner.

At 30 kilometers it was Kirui who broke away from the lead with an increase in speed. "I preferred to keep going at my own pace and saw that I was slowly getting closer to him," said winner Eliud Kiplagat, describing the decisive phase of the race. With two kilometers to go, Kiplagat passed his compatriot and, to thunderous applause, stormed the finish line as the winner. "This is my greatest victory so far," said the new course record holder, who was enthusiastic about the Salzburg Marathon: "It was a great race, it was a great finish. I was really cheered on by the audience.”

Joan Rotich repeats last year's victory
Joan Rotich from Kenya was the first runner in the history of the Salzburg Marathon to triumph as the defending champion. With her final time of 2:36:10 hours, she was just two seconds faster than her time last year, which is equivalent to her personal best time. "It's always nice to be in Salzburg and to run the marathon. I'm very happy about my second victory in my second appearance here”, Rotich was satisfied with her race. For a long time it even looked as if the Kenyan could threaten the two-year-old course record set by her compatriot Risper Kimayo, but in the end it was just over a minute missing. "It wasn't possible to set a faster time at these high temperatures," said the winner, who was running without a pacemaker, after the race.

Bernd Kriechhammer and Claudia Kaiser Salzburg national champions
Bernd Kriechhammer and Claudia Kaiser won the title of Salzburg State Champion at the Salzburg Marathon. Kriechhammer, who started for the Mattsee running club, finished fourth fastest ahead of the Brazilian Paulo dos Santos with a time of 2:43:20 hours. “Today was my last marathon at this level. It's amazing that I crossed the finish line as the best Austrian,” said the new Salzburg national champion, who was struggling with cramps on the second lap, which he attributed to the warm temperatures. In previous years, Kriechhammer was often used as a pacemaker at the Salzburg Marathon.

The Salzburg State Champion was Claudia Kaiser, who was born in Germany and competes for the Plussport Saalfelden club. Kaiser, who finished second behind Rotich with a time of 3:03:03 hours, had already been considered the favorite beforehand. Cornelia Köpper was the best Austrian and third overall in the marathon.

German victories in the half marathon
In both the men's and women's half marathons, victory went to Bavaria; Never before had runners from Germany entered the list of winners at the half marathon in Salzburg. Benedikt Fritz won the men's race in a time of 1:12:59 hours and celebrated his "finest success" at his third start in Salzburg. “Of course it's great to come in as a winner. I always like to come back here because of the beautiful landscape and the great atmosphere,” said the man from Berchtesgaden shortly after crossing the finish line. Christine Fiedler from Munich triumphed in her Salzburg debut with a new personal best of 1:20:46 hours. The former Bavarian champion in the half marathon especially thanked the audience for their support: “Everything was perfect from the start. There was a great atmosphere, numerous people stood behind every crossing and cheered us on.” The two-time Salzburg Marathon winner Sabine Hofer from Salzburg had to be satisfied with second place.

The winners of the 10 km run were Andreas Ringhofer and Lauren Greil from Great Britain, the fastest over 5 km were Albert Hinterstoißer and Elfi Pierer.

Fantastic mood
All runners were enthusiastic about the excellent atmosphere in Salzburg. Tens of thousands of spectators lined the course of the 21.1 km long course and loudly cheered on the participants. Already at 9:00 a.m. at the start at Residenzplatz, numerous spectators gathered to witness the beginning of the spectacle. The old town of Salzburg showed itself from its most beautiful side, bright sunshine and temperatures around 17°C. brightened up the event for everyone involved. In the course of the morning, the mercury continued to climb on the thermometer.

A total of 6,789 participants started in one of the programmed competitions. The Salzburg Marathon celebrates a new participant record in its anniversary edition. Almost 1,700 children and young people took part in the Coca-Cola Junior Marathon on Saturday evening. Thomas Geierspichler, a multiple gold medalist at the Paralympic Games, also started a special race and completed the half-marathon distance.