On Sunday, February 23, 2025, elite runners from across the globe will gather at the starting line of the Napoli City Half Marathon. Among them are Italian marathon national record holders Yohanes Chiappinelli and Sofiia Yaremchuk. Spectators can look forward to witnessing numerous top athletes from Europe, Africa, and Asia aiming to shatter personal bests.

This race, renowned for its fast course and breathtaking views of Mount Vesuvius and the Gulf of Naples, marks the opening of the 2025 RunCzech season. Annually, the event continues to attract a strong international field.

Men: Yohanes Chiappinelli eyes national record, Czech talent Damián Vích joins elite lineup

Italian runner Yohanes Chiappinelli, the national marathon record holder with his 2:05:24 performance from the 2024 Valencia Marathon, is set to challenge the national half-marathon record. A bronze medallist in the 3,000-metre steeplechase from the 2018 European Championships, Chiappinelli will face stiff competition.

Yohanes Chiapanelli. Photo credit RunCzech

His main rivals include Kenyan Andrew Lorot, whose 59:54 from Marugame last year makes him the fastest half-marathoner in the field. In October, Chiappinelli clocked a fast 1:00:50 in Valencia.

Edward Konana Koonyo with a time of 1:00:00 in Gentbrugge, Ethiopia’s Haftamu Abadi Gebresilase (personal best: 1:00:27), and Israel’s Maru Teferi, the silver medallist in the marathon at the 2023 World Championships (personal best: 1:00:52). Other notable competitors include Italian Daniele Meucci, a 2014 European marathon champion and Olympian (personal best: 1:01:06), and Burundi’s national record holder, Therence Bizoza (personal best: 1:01:30).

Women: Sofiia Yaremchuk leads the elite field

Italian Sofiia Yaremchuk, co-holder of the national half-marathon record run in Napoli last year in 1:08:27 is the top seed. She is also the national marathon record holder from the 2023 Valencia Marathon where she clocked the 2:23:16. Not far removed from competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Yaremchuk returns to Naples following her record-breaking performance last year.

Her challengers include Kenya’s Gladys Longari Cherop (personal best: 1:07:28) and Ethiopia’s Alemitu Olana Tariku, a former African U20 champion (personal best: 1:07:49).

Sofiia Yaremchuk. Photo credit: RunCzech

Other contenders are Burundi’s Elvanie Nimbona (personal best: 1:10:32), aiming to replicate her career-best performance from 2018, and Poland’s Aleksandra Lisowska, the reigning European marathon champion (personal best: 1:12:06). Italy’s Aurora Bado, a bronze medalist in the 10,000 meters at the 2023 European Championships, will make her Naples debut with a half-marathon personal best of 1:12:33.

With such a strong lineup, the Napoli City Half Marathon promises fast times and thrilling competition.

in 2024, Napoli organizers saw record-breaking registrations with nearly 85,000 runners, including 29,000 foreign runners from over 127 countries — a 17.2 per cent growth compared to 2023.

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