Prague Marathon

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Prague Marathon
Prague 2008 Finish.jpg
Finish line outside St. Nicholas Church in 2008
DateMay
Location Prague, Czech Republic
Event type Road
Distance Marathon
Established1995(30 years ago) (1995)
Course recordsMen's: 2:05:09 (2023)
Flag of Kenya.svg Alexander Mutiso
Women's: 2:19:46 (2019)
Flag of Israel.svg Lonah Chemtai
Official site Prague Marathon
Participants7,631 finishers (2025) [1]
Lining up at the start in the corrals at the Old Town Square in 2016 Praha-Marathon-08.jpg
Lining up at the start in the corrals at the Old Town Square in 2016
Runners on Cech Bridge in 2013 Prague Marathon 2013.JPG
Runners on Čech Bridge in 2013
Taking on refreshment in 2010 Prazsky maraton, Nabrezni, bezci.jpg
Taking on refreshment in 2010

The Prague Marathon (also known as Prague International Marathon) is an annual road marathon held in the city of Prague in the Czech Republic each May. It was founded in 1995 and has grown to become a significant event, being awarded IAAF Gold Label status. [2] Prague's marathon course has been voted one of the most beautiful in the world. [3]

Contents

History

The inaugural marathon was held in 1995 with the support of Emil Zátopek, a Czech runner who had won the marathon at the 1952 Summer Olympics despite never having run a marathon before. [4] [5] [6] For its inaugural year, the marathon itself had 985 participants, while runners in two additional races, measuring 9.2 and 4.8 km (5.7 and 3.0 mi), made up the rest of the roughly 15,000 participants in total. [4] [7]

The 2020 edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with all registrants given the option of transferring their entry to 2021 or 2022 or transferring their entry to another runner. [a] [9] [10] Similarly, the 2021 in-person edition was also cancelled due to the pandemic, with all registrants given the option of transferring their entry to 2022 or exchanging it for a shop voucher. [11] [12]

Other races

The Prague Marathon event takes place over a full weekend and comprises several events, including the Prague International Marathon, the ČT 2Run, the DM Family Mile and the DM Bambini Run. The Prague Half Marathon, which is also awarded IAAF Gold Label status, is held each March or April. [13]

Winners

Since its inception in 1995, the men's race has been dominated by East African runners, with Kenyan athletes winning 18 titles alone. Angola-born Portuguese runner Hélder Ornelas became the first and so far only European men's winner in 2007. Kenyan Alexander Mutiso is the men's record holder with 2:05:09 hours.

The winners of the women's race have been mainly Kenyan and Ethiopian. Alena Vinnitskaya of Belarus is the most successful women's athlete, with three straight wins from 1996 to 1998. Israeli Lonah Chemtai Salpeter has the women's course best of 2:19:46 hours. [14]

In 2019, Moroccan runner El Mahjoub Dazza crossed the finish line first, but was disqualified in 2020 by the Athletics Integrity Unit for using a prohibited substance, as determined by abnormalities in his athlete biological passport. [15] [16] [17] Ethiopian runner Dawit Wolde was named the winner after Dazza's disqualification. [15] [18]

Key:

   Course record (in bold)
   Czech Republic championship race

Marathon

Ed.YearMen's winnerTime [b] Women's winnerTime [b] Rf.
11995Flag of Ethiopia (1991-1996).svg  Tumo Turbo  (ETH)2:12:44Flag of Moldova.svg  Svetlana Tkach  (MDA)2:39:33
21996Flag of Kenya.svg  William Musyoki  (KEN)2:12:21Flag of Belarus (1995-2012).svg  Alena Vinnitskaya  (BLR)2:37:33
31997Flag of Kenya.svg  John Kagwe  (KEN)2:09:07Flag of Belarus (1995-2012).svg  Alena Vinnitskaya  (BLR)2:32:58
41998Flag of Kenya.svg  Elijah Lagat  (KEN)2:08:52Flag of Belarus (1995-2012).svg  Alena Vinnitskaya  (BLR)2:34:25
51999Flag of Kenya.svg  Eliud Kering  (KEN)2:11:19Flag of Italy.svg  Franca Fiacconi  (ITA)2:28:33
62000Flag of Kenya.svg  Simon Chemoiywo  (KEN)2:10:35Flag of Russia.svg  Alina Ivanova  (RUS)2:27:42
72001Flag of Tanzania.svg  Andrea Sipe  (TAN)2:10:14Flag of Italy.svg  Maura Viceconte  (ITA)2:26:33
82002Flag of Kenya.svg  Henry Kiprotich  (KEN)2:11:41Flag of Russia.svg  Alevtina Ivanova  (RUS)2:32:24
92003Flag of Kenya.svg  Willy Kipkirui  (KEN)2:11:56Flag of Kenya.svg  Anne Jelagat  (KEN)2:31:10
102004Flag of Kenya.svg  Barnabas Kipkoech  (KEN)2:12:15Flag of Ethiopia (1996-2009).svg  Leila Aman  (ETH)2:31:48
112005Flag of Kenya.svg  Steven Cheptot  (KEN)2:10:42Flag of Kenya.svg  Salina Kosgei  (KEN)2:28:42
122006Flag of Qatar.svg  Mubarak Hassan Shami  (QAT)2:11:11Flag of Russia.svg  Alina Ivanova  (RUS)2:29:20
132007Flag of Portugal.svg  Hélder Ornelas  (POR)2:11:49Flag of Russia.svg  Nailiya Yulamanova  (RUS)2:33:10
142008Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenneth Mungara  (KEN)2:11:06Flag of Russia.svg  Nailiya Yulamanova  (RUS)2:31:43
152009Flag of Kenya.svg  Patrick Ivuti  (KEN)2:07:48Flag of Russia.svg  Olga Glok  (RUS)2:28:27
162010Flag of Kenya.svg  Eliud Kiptanui  (KEN)2:05:39Flag of Kenya.svg  Helena Kirop  (KEN)2:25:29
172011Flag of Kenya.svg  Benson Barus  (KEN)2:07:07Flag of Kenya.svg  Lydia Cheromei  (KEN)2:22:34
182012Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Deressa Chimsa  (ETH)2:06:25Flag of Kenya.svg  Agnes Kiprop  (KEN)2:25:40
192013Flag of Qatar.svg  Nicholas Kemboi  (QAT)2:08:51Flag of Kenya.svg  Caroline Rotich  (KEN)2:27:00
202014Flag of Kenya.svg  Patrick Terer  (KEN)2:08:07Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Firehiwot Dado  (ETH)2:23:34
212015Flag of Kenya.svg  Felix Kandie  (KEN)2:08:32Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Yebrgual Melese  (ETH)2:23:49
222016Flag of Kenya.svg  Lawrence Cherono  (KEN)2:07:24Flag of Kenya.svg  Lucy Karimi  (KEN)2:24:46
232017Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Gebretsadik Abraha  (ETH)2:08:47Flag of Kenya.svg  Valary Aiyabei  (KEN)2:21:57
242018Flag of the United States.svg  Galen Rupp  (USA)2:06:07Flag of Kenya.svg  Bornes Kitur  (KEN)2:24:19
252019Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Dawit Wolde  (ETH) [c] 2:06:18Flag of Israel.svg  Lonah Chemtai  (ISR)2:19:46 [18]
cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to coronavirus pandemic [9] [11]
262022Flag of Kenya.svg  Norbert Kigen  (KEN)2:07:54Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Bekelech Gudeta  (ETH)2:22:56 [19] [20]
272023Flag of Kenya.svg  Alexander Mutiso  (KEN)2:05:09Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Workenesh Edesa  (ETH)2:20:42
282024Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Lemi Hayle  (ETH)2:08:44Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Bedatu Hirpa  (ETH)2:23:41
292025Flag of Ethiopia.svg Lemi Hayle (ETH)2:05:14Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Bertukan Welde  (ETH)2:20:55 [21]

Battle of the Teams

Battle of the Teams is an elite-only event inaugurated in 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic. [22] [23]

Ed.YearMen's winnerTime [b] Women's winnerTime [b] Rf.
12021Flag of Kenya.svg  Benson Kipruto  (KEN)2:10:16Flag of Kenya.svg  Purity Rionoripo  (KEN)2:20:14 [23]

Multiple wins

AthleteWinsCategoryYears
Flag of Belarus (1995-2012).svg  Alena Vinnitskaya  (BLR)3Women's1996, 1997, 1998
Flag of Russia.svg  Alina Ivanova  (RUS)2Women's2000, 2006
Flag of Russia.svg  Nailiya Yulamanova  (RUS)2Women's2007, 2008
Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Lemi Hayle  (ETH)2Men's2024, 2025

By country

CountryTotalMen'sWomen's
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 27189
Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 1367
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 606
Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus 303
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 202
Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar 220
Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova 101
Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania 110
Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 110
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 110
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 101

Notes

  1. It had initially been postponed before being cancelled. [8]
  2. 1 2 3 4 h:m:s
  3. El Mahjoub Dazza crossed the finish line first, but was disqualified for using a prohibited substance. [15] [17]

References

  1. "Results - RunCzech". www.runczech.com. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
  2. "Prague International Marathon - IAAF Gold Label for Volkswagen Prague Marathon!". www.praguemarathon.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2010-10-22.
  3. "Volkswagen Prague Marathon in Prague, Czech Republic, NA: Details at Runner's World.com". runnersworld.com. Archived from the original on 2010-04-28. Retrieved 2010-10-01.
  4. 1 2 "25 years of #PragueMarathon | RunCzech". Archived from the original on 2021-07-25.
  5. "Prague Half Marathon to Take Place in September". Archived from the original on 2021-07-25.
  6. "Emil Zátopek Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.c…". Archived from the original on 2013-01-04.
  7. "Defending Champion Felix Kandie to Headline Prague Marathon - FloTrack". Archived from the original on 2021-07-26.
  8. "Volkswagen Prague Marathon 2020 is postponed". runczech.com. 2020-03-25. Archived from the original on 2020-04-08.
  9. 1 2 "Open letter | RunCzech".
  10. "FAQ | RunCzech".
  11. 1 2 "Press release - the Volkswagen Prague Marathon postponed until after 2021 - RunCzech". www.runczech.com. Archived from the original on 2022-05-10. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
  12. "Prague Marathon Again Cancelled over Covid Restrictions | Barron's". www.barrons.com. Archived from the original on 2022-05-11. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
  13. "Prague International Marathon - Prague International Marathon receives the Prestigious IAAF Gold Label for its Hervis Prague Half Marathon". www.praguemarathon.com. Archived from the original on 2010-04-07. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
  14. Prague International Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2012-05-13.
  15. 1 2 3 "Moroccan marathon runner handed four-year doping ban". Archived from the original on 2021-07-28.
  16. "Appeal Decisions | Athletics Integrity Unit". Archived from the original on 2021-07-28.
  17. 1 2 "Arbitral award delivered by the Court of arbitration for sport" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-07-28.
  18. 1 2 "Results | RunCzech". Archived from the original on 2021-07-28.
  19. "World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 2022-05-10. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
  20. "Kigen and Borecha triumph in 26th Prague Marathon | Radio Prague International". english.radio.cz. Archived from the original on 2022-05-11. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
  21. "Hayle wins Prague international marathon for the 2nd straight year, Welde claims women's race". ABCNews. Associated Press. 4 May 2025. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
  22. "An entirely new twist on an ancient sport "Battle of the teams" re-imagines the marathon as a team sport" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-07-24.
  23. 1 2 "Prague Marathon: Battle of the Teams | AIMS | Race news". Archived from the original on 2021-07-24.
List of winners