Twenty thousand runners competed in the ORLEN Warsaw Marathon/POL 2018

The 6th ORLEN Warsaw Marathon is behind us. The beautiful weather, athletes, and cheering supporters all contributed to the race. The marathon winner was Ezekiel Omullo from Kenya, and the OSHEE 10k winner was Mengistru Zelalem from Ethiopia.

The victor of the 88th Polish Athletics Association’s Polish Men’s Marathon Championship was Yared Shegumo. 

The race began at 9:00 sharp, with runners setting off over the Świętokrzyski Bridge and towards the north of the city. OSHEE 10k participants went south along the right bank of the Vistula. Special Cheering Points were set up along both routes for Varsovians to cheer on runners as they faced down the kilometres. Twenty musical groups along the route made the whole event more enjoyable for everyone.

This year’s edition of the ORLEN Warsaw Marathon was exceptional not only due to the number of people celebrating National Running Day, but also because of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Poland’s independence. Before the starting signal, thousands of runners in white and red shirts gathered on WybrzeżeSzczecińskie to celebrate the unique anniversary by singing the Polish national anthem.

The fastest OSHEE 10k runners were at the finish line in less than 30 minutes. To thunderous cheers from the gathered supporters, after a fiercely competitive sprint to the finish, Ethiopian Mengist Zelal crossed the line first with a time of 00:28:48. Briton Louise Small was the fastest woman in the OSHEE 10k, finishing with a time of 00:33:20.

As every year, marathoners guaranteed fans the highest level of sporting emotion. Strong race leaders made the competition very even, with the results decided in the run-up to the finish line. The first to finish was Kenyan Ezekiel Omullo, with a very good time of 02:11:17. Second with a time of 02:11:41 was last year’s ORLEN Warsaw Marathon winner Felix Kumuta, also from Kenya, who missed the top spot by only 39 seconds. Ethiopian Herpasa Kitesa came third, running the 42.195 km route in 02:11:46.

Yared Shegumo became the Polish champion with time of 02:13:53, qualifying him to start at the European Championships in Berlin. Poles Mariusz Giżyński and Arkadiusz Gardzielewski reached the finish line in 02:15:17 and 02:15:57, respectively.

The women’s race ended in equally exciting fashion. For a long time, Ethiopian Azmer Abreha led the race, only to be overtaken in the last few hundred meters by last year’s winner, Belarusian Nasstassia Ivanova. Ultimately, Ivanova finished with a time of 02:28:03, and Abreha with a time of 02:28:07. Coming in third, the first Polish woman across the line was Izabela Trzaskalska, finishing in 02:32:26.

The best rider in the handcycle category was Rafał Wilk, who covered the approximately 20 km distance in 00:29:49. The women’s handcycle champion was Slovakian Anna Oroszowa, who finished with a time of 00:36:52.

– The enthusiasm of the runners and fans who took part in the ORLEN Warsaw Marathon shows that National Running Day has become a permanent fixture of the capital’s sporting calendar. This year’s edition was special – not only due to the runners’ good results, but also as this year marks the 100th anniversary of Polish independence, celebrated by singing the national anthem before the marathon start. The commitment demonstrated by the participants and by supporters along the route proves that ORLEN Warsaw Marathon fully deserves its place as one of the premiere running events in Poland –  said Anna Ziobroń, Director of the Sponsorship Office at PKN ORLEN.

Marathon results (42.195 km)

Men
1. Ezekiel Omullo (KEN) – 02:11:17
2. Felix Kumutai (KEN) – 02:11:41
3. Herpasa Kitesa (ETH) – 02:11:46

Women
1. Nasstassia Ivanova (BLR) – 02:28:03
2. Azmera Abreha (ETH) – 02:28:07
3.Izabela Trzaskalska (POL) – 02:32:26

OSHEE 10k results

Men
1. Mengistru Zelalem (ETH) – 00:28:48
2. Terefe Seifu (ETH) – 00:29:16
3. Adam Nowicki (POL) – 00:29:31

Women
1. Louise Small (GBR) – 00:33:20
2. Paulina Kaczyńska (POL) – 00:33:59
3.Monika Kaczmarek (POL) – 00:34:25

Source: ORLEN Warsaw Marathon