With over 21,000 runners, on Sunday morning, in the center of Athens, the 12th International Half Marathon which was dedicated to Mikis Theodorakis. Big winners o Nikos Stamoulis in men and Anastasia Marinakou to the women’s best ever Championship performance on a brand new course that was well-loved by all who took part.
Nikos Stamoulis of GAS Agrini finished in 1:05.50. He was followed by the winner of the Marathon, Panagiotis Karaiskos of NGS Iraklis with 1:06.38, while Kostas Stamoulis was third in the race with 1:06.50 and Charalambos Pitsolis of GAS Ilisos was third in the Panhellenic Championship with a time of 1:07.49.
“It is my first victory in a Panhellenic championship. It was a nice race with intense competition. We went a little fast at the start, but the race went well. It was crowded on the new route, which was very beautiful and quite passable. My goal in the open is to achieve good times in the 10,000m.said Nikos Stamoulis.
Among the women, the favorite prevailed, Anastasia Marinakou (Panathinaikos AO) with 1:16.52, who proved that she is capable of standing out even in distances longer than 10 kilometers. She was followed by the winner of the Marathon, Gloria Privilege of GS Glyfada with 1:17.37 and Panagiota Vlahaki of GAS Ilissos with 1:17.45.
“I am very happy for my victory today, in my first participation in the event. I chose to go conservatively for most of the ride and climb in the last three kilometers. On Tuesday I leave for nearly 40 days in the South. Africa to make the main part of my preparation for the open. The goal remains a fast 5,000m race, but the 10,000m is also on my mind. Big goal to compete in the European Championships in Rome“, said Anastasia Marinakou.
The start of the International Half Marathon took place in four blocks. The first one was given by the president of SEGAS, Sofia Sakorafa, the Deputy Governor of the Central Sector of Athens, Konstantinos Zombos, the president of OPANDA, Eleni Zontirou and little Agapi, while the second one was given by the general secretary of SEGAS, Giorgos Giatrudakis and the Director of Corporate Communication and Sustainability of ERGO, a major sponsor of the race, Markella Tsourogianni.
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