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Ethiopian Solomon Berihu, and Kenyan Glady Chepkurui ready for a fast half-marathon race in Istanbul on Sunday

April 26, 2024

Solomon Berihu of Ethiopia and Kenya’s Gladys Chepkurui head strong fields at the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Half Marathon on Sunday. They have run personal bests of 59:17 and 65:46 respectively.

The women’s race

Three years ago Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich broke the global mark in Istanbul with a 64:02 performance. While the world record has been improved since the course record still stands and will likely remain in place on Sunday.

**Solomon Berihu, Ftaw Zeray and Solomon Kipchoge photo credit: Spor Istanbul**

However, there could be other fast performances from the women’s winner and her competition. With a personal best of 66:04, Ftaw Zeray is the second fastest on the start line behind Chepkurui. It was three weeks ago when the 26-year-old ran her first race of the year and finished runner-up in the Berlin Half Marathon. In very difficult conditions with temperatures well over 20 Celsius, she managed a 67:22 performance. “I have well recovered from the race in Berlin. I feel I can run a personal best on Sunday,“ said Zeray, who was sixth in the World Half Marathon Championships last year.

Having raced in the heat, warm temperatures in Istanbul will be less of an issue for Zeray on Sunday. With six other women who have already run sub 68:00, the race should be competitive. Chepkurui clocked her 65:46 PB in Barcelona a year ago and has run sub-70:00 eleven times. Ethiopians Betelihem Afenigus and Aberash Shilima are the next fastest with PBs of 66:46 and 67:26 respectively. However, a debutant could also be in the mix for a place on the podium. Twenty-one-year-old Miriam Chebet showed great form and consistency this year with three sub-31:00 performances over the 10k distance. When she won the race in Ibiza, Spain, in January she clocked a fine PB of 30:40.

Another promising debutant is Sweden’s Meraf Bahta. The European 5,000m champion from 2014 is a late entry to the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Half Marathon. The 34-year-old is the Swedish 10K record holder with a 31:22 PB from 2022. The former Eritrean could qualify for the European Championships if she runs 70:30 or faster in her debut. Due to an injury, Italy’s Giovanna Epis had to withdraw from the race in Istanbul.

The men’s race

Solomon Berihu is the fastest runner on the start list with his PB of 59:17. He ran this time back in 2019 in New Delhi and has not raced for almost a year. “I had an injury that kept me away from training. Now, I am feeling better and I am back in shape,“ explained the 24-year-old Ethiopian, who hopes to return with a bang on Sunday. “My first goal is to win the race, but I am also hoping to run 59:30 or even faster.“ The Istanbul course record stands at 59:15.

Another Ethiopian is among the hot favourites in Dinkalem Ayele who has shown great form this year when he improved to 59:30 in Barcelona and then won the Lisbon Half Marathon in warm conditions with 60:36. “I am in good form and confident that I can go close to 59 minutes if weather conditions are suitable,“ said 23-year-old.

Tomorrow = Raceday 🔥

Here’s our line up for tomorrow’s half marathon in Istanbul. 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/4Nqurg1z1y
— NN Running Team (@NNRunningTeam) April 3, 2021

Solomon Kipchoge will probably be among the athletes to potentially challenge the two Ethiopians. The Kenyan, who improved his half marathon PB by almost two and a half minutes last year when he ran 59:37 in Lille, France chose to come to Istanbul because of the fast course. “I will not start the race with a certain time or place in mind. It depends on how my body will feel during the race. But I will try to improve my PB,“ said Kipchoge.

Having not raced since 2020, Ali Kaya surprised the organizers when he asked them to include him on the start list for a comeback race. The 30-year-old former Kenyan, who competed for Turkey since 2013, is a past winner of the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Half Marathon. When he took the race in 2016 he established a national record of 60:16 that continues to stand today. The 61:40 qualifying time for the European Championships could be a goal for Ali Kaya. Spaniard Juan Antonio Perez, who has a PB of 60:58, will probably also target this time.

Organizers of the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Half Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race, have registered a record number of 14,200 runners. This includes a 10k race staged parallel on Sunday. Turkey’s number one road race is one of the world’s major half marathons and has a world record course.