Alex Matata and Ftaw Zeray are ready to run fast in Istanbul.

Two runners who are extraordinarily successful over the half-marathon distance lead the elite fields of the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Half Marathon on Sunday.

Defending champion Alex Matata of Kenya and Ethiopia’s Ftaw Zeray feature personal records of 59:11 and 65:12, respectively. While these are strong PBs, their consistency at a very high level is even more impressive and makes them favourites for the best quality road race on Turkish soil. Including a 10km race staged in parallel, organizers registered a record total of over 19,000 athletes for the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Half Marathon, which is a Gold Label Road Race of World Athletics. 7,255 of these entries are for the half-marathon distance.

Three men have broken the hour barrier, and another seven are on the list with sub 61:00 PBs. Defending champion Alex Matata set his 59:11 personal best only a few weeks ago, when he won the race in Yangzhou, China. The Kenyan dominated the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Half Marathon last year when he clocked 59:40 despite windy conditions.

Matata hopes to continue his exceptional streak of half-marathon performances. Over the past two years, the 27-year-old has run the 21.0975 km distance 13 times, winning eleven of those races. On Sunday, he targets the 59:15 course record.

“I am expecting a good result and believe that this time I can break the course record. Last year we had a lot of wind. I think this time the conditions will be much better,” said Alex Matata.

Fellow Kenyan Solomon Yego will be among Matata’s challengers on Sunday. While he has an official personal best of 59:29, he won the Rome-Ostia Half Marathon ten years ago in 58:44. That course is not record eligible, so the times do not appear in the official rankings. Marathon specialist Shura Kitata of Ethiopia is the third athlete on the start list with a sub-one-hour PB (59:47). Moses Cheruiyot has recently shown good form. The 22-year-old Kenyan ran 60:00 in Prague.

The Turkish Championships are included in the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Half Marathon. Ali Kaya and Aras Kaya lead the national entry with personal bests of 60:16 and 60:51, respectively. The depth of the women’s field is even more impressive than that of the men’s. Four athletes have run sub 67:00, and a total of eleven feature personal bests faster than 69:00. Like Alex Matata, Ftaw Zeray is a half-marathon specialist as well.

Over the past three years, the 28-year-old Ethiopian has run under 68:00 a dozen times and on five occasions she clocked sub 67:00 times. In March, Zeray showed top form when she improved her PB to 65:12 and won the Paris Half Marathon with a course record. There are certainly only very few female athletes internationally who perform as consistently well over this distance as Ftaw Zeray, who was sixth at the 2023 World Half Marathon Championships. “I am very happy to be back here in Istanbul. I like the course very much and love being in this city,” said Ftaw Zeray, who was fifth here two years ago. “I recently ran my PB in Paris.

On Sunday, I want to improve that time and deliver an even better performance.” Kenyan Evaline Chirchir is the second fastest runner on the Istanbul start list with a personal best of 66:01, whilst defending champion Miriam Chebet was withdrawn by her manager, who replanned her race schedule. But perhaps it will be Asmarech Anley who emerges as Ftaw Zeray’s strongest opponent. The 21-year-old Ethiopian has been in impressive form recently. Over the past two months, she has run her first two half marathons and won both. First Anley took the Ras Al Khaimah race with 67:22, then she triumphed in Shanghai and improved to 67:01. In the Turkish Championships, Yayla Gönen, who has a PB of 70:27, returns after a two-year maternity break. Nursena Ceto is the second fastest Turkish woman on the start list with 71:35.

Seeded athletes