© Copyright – 2022 – Athletics Illustrated
Ukrainian refugee, 31-year-old Valentyna Veretska, won the Jerusalem Marathon in the time two hours, 45 minutes, and 54 seconds. Because of the conflict between Russia – Ukraine conflict, she had not trained for nearly a month leading up to the race.
Veretska and her 11-year-old daughter fled Mykolaiv, Ukraine to Kraków, Poland, leaving her husband there to defend the country.
I’m not crying, it’s just allergies https://t.co/8epUG41PHS
— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) March 26, 2022
Veretska had finished third in the Riyadh Half Marathon in Saudi Arabia in early March. Off that performance, she received an invitation to the Jerusalem Marathon.
In Jerusalem, Veretska finished well ahead of Antonina Reznikov of Israel, who took second in the time of 3:02:12. Bikaya Mintamer finished third in the time of 3:05:17. Veretska took third overall on the very hill course.
Guadi Agazi won the men's race in the time of 2:37:17. Finishing second was Fanta Gizachew in the time of 2:42:21.
Veretska recorded a 1:18:07 finish time in Riyadh behind Kenyans Daisy Cherotich and Gloria Kite, who recorded finish times of 68:56 and 72:13, respectively.
The event included a half-marathon, 10K and 5K. Nearly 15,000 people took in the race weekend with 687 in the marathon.
