Messages of Friendship, Peace and Tolerance

Kigen Victor Kiplagat (2:13:28) in the men’s and Anne Kosgei Jepkemboi (2:34:51) in the women’s competition, both from Kenya, were the first to complete the 42.195 kilometre-long race of the 22^nd Belgrade Marathon, but the true winners were the sunny streets of Belgrade filled with cheerful people and sportsmanship, a spirit of health and messages of friendship, peace and tolerance to the world.

By Vanja Savić
Photo by Milan Melka

More than 20,000 people participated in this year’s Belgrade Marathon held on April 18, on the same day as Orthodox Easter. From the early morning hours, Tašmajdan Park and Pionirski Park were filled with competitors warming up before the race.

The start sign was flagged for competitors at 10 a.m. and for the Fun Run at 10:05 a.m. by Belgrade Mayor Dragan Djilas, Aleksandar Djordjević, legend of Serbian basketball and Belgrade Marathon Executive Board Chairman, Snežana Samardžić-Marković, Serbia’s Minister of Youth and Sport, Lasse Viren, this year’s Belgrade Marathon promoter, and Colonel Michel van Meurs, International Military Sports Council (CISM) secretary general.

The marathon and semi-marathon race attracted 1,511 runners from 30 world countries. At the same time, thousands gathered for the Fun Run that started from the Church of St. Mark via the Jat Airways downtown office to Terazije Square and Moskva Hotel, sending out to everyone UNICEF’s School without Violence message. The previous Saturday, on the day of Catholic Easter, the 16^th Children’s Marathon was held with 18,000 youngsters participating, as 150 qualified for the final 230-metre won by five-year-old Djordje Simonović.

In the half-marathon, the fastest man was Mathew Cheboi Kiptoo (1:04:56) of Kenya, and in the women’s half-marathon, first place went to Olivera Jevtić (1:12:20) of Serbia. This was her sixth triumph in Belgrade’s semi-marathon 21.095-metre race. She received the Djoko Vještica Trophy, introduced for the first time this year in memory of Belgrade’s Studio B radio station journalist who was one of the chief initiators of the marathon race in Serbia’s capital. Serbia’s most successful marathon runners this spring were Nevena Bogićević (3:06:29) and soldier Sreten Ninković (2:33:13).

As part of the 22^nd Belgrade Marathon, the 42^nd Military World Marathon Championship, under the Friendship through Sport slogan, was held for the first time ever in Serbia. As many as 92 men and 22 women from 26 world countries took part in this race. The first to cut the finish line among the men was Ahmed Moustafa (2:16:21) from Qatar, who won the military title, while Rasa Drazdauskaite (2:35:00) from Lithuania won the women’s military title. She also placed second among the professional women runners.

The promoter of this year’s marathon for the second time since the 1996 marathon was Lasse Viren, former Finnish athlete and winner of four gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal in the 5,000 metre and 10,000 metre races.

Orthodox Easter Orthodox Easter was celebrated in the Serbian capital this year along with the Belgrade Marathon, and also coincided with the Belgrade Days event. The final game of the NLB League ABA as well as the Army mini football championship for the armies of the former Yugoslav republics were also held in Belgrade at about the same time.

Jat Airways - With Belgrade Marathon Again The first Belgrade Marathon was held in 1988. In terms of organisation, it received significant backing from what is now the Serbian national air company Jat Airways. The company was this year once again the official air carrier and event sponsor. The starting number of each competitor bore the well-known Jat sign, while the most successful reporters and photo-report.