This year, the fourteenth annual Prague International Marathon took place in a lovely weather and impressive atmosphere that accompanied the start of hundreds of contestants at the Old Town Square. The very combination of a superior sporting event and unforgettable settings provided by the historical beauty of Prague is the reason why the runners and spectators alike enthusiastically come back every year to participate in this event.
More than five thousand runners coming from 71 countries took part in the marathon race; among them were also top runners from 20 different countries, for whom it was the last chance to meet the limit to qualify for the Olympics in Beijing. Aside from the main 42 kilometers long event, several shorter races and an accompanying program were prepared for the runners.
Towards the end of the race, the temperature rose up to 18 degrees centigrade. With the time of 2:11:06, it was won by the Kenyan runner, Kenneth Mburu Munzara, who became the tenth Kenyan in the history of the Prague Marathon to win the event as he came in first, more than ten minutes ahead of his fellow compatriot - Elijah Sang. The fastest Czech runner was Robert Štefko, who came in fifteenth, and who with the time of 2:23:53 became the winner of the Czech Marathon Championship 2008.
The women’s category was dominated by the last year’s winner, the Russian athlete Yulamanova, who finished the race in 2:31:43, which was by more than 90 seconds better than the result she achieved last year. The local ladies' champion was 45-year-old Ivana Martincová who ranked seventh in overall competition, having completed the race in 2:53:01.
However, all those who took part in the marathon, ranked among the 10 most prestigious marathon races in the world, were indeed victors, and the crowds cheered them on along the whole route of the race.
Among the hundreds of spectators enjoying a Sunday sporting morning and cheering the contestants on, was also the President, Václav Klaus, who presented the prizes to the winners during the medal awarding ceremony. Accompanied by his entire family, our leading decathlete, Roman Šebrle, showed up to support his wife Eva in the race.
The marathon also provided an opportunity to meet the icon of the Czech sport, Dana Zátopková, who exchanged greetings with President Klaus and other important figures of the Czech sport and political life. Vlastimil Harapes was also among the people who enjoyed the truly summery day and the company of beautiful women at the event.
However, the person who really took the place by a storm was Eva Aichmaierová, who caused a great deal of amazement with her unexpected sporting performance – climbing up a street lamp-post at the Old Town Square, and trying to claim all the medals as a reward for her effort.
And so, we can already start looking forward to the next-year's Prague International Marathon!
