BELGRADE MARATHON LAUNCHES ‘KENTH ANDERSSON’ TROPHY – By Pat Butcher

This weekend’s Belgrade Marathon, Sunday April 17, adds a fourth trophy – the ‘Kenth Andersson’ – to the trio of illustrious names already remembered by the event organisers.

The Kenth Andersson Trophy, in recognition of the 20 years that the former Swedish national champion dedicated to helping in the development of the Belgrade Marathon and allied events, is to be awarded for an ‘extraordinary contribution to the development and promotion of the Belgrade Marathon’.

It goes without saying that Andersson, who died earlier this year in Belgrade, aged 66, would have been first in line for such an award.

Andersson’s contribution to the Belgrade Marathon was immense: as an athletic manager he engaged international elite runners, as an associate he opened many doors in the European and world athletics circuit, as a friend he helped building the image of all the events organised by the Belgrade Marathon Ltd – Belgrade Marathon, Belgrade Race Through History and Ladies’ Race, the events that are today the pride of Belgrade and Serbia.

The three trophies already awarded to event winners, the ‘Fred Lebow,’ to the mens’ and women’s marathon winners; the ‘Franjo Mihalić’ to the best national marathoner; and the ‘Djoko Vještica’ to women’s half-marathon winner recall, in order, the creator of the New York Marathon (who was a supporter of Belgrade Marathon); ex-Yugoslavia’s greatest distance runner (now 92), and one of the founders of the Belgrade Marathon.

The Kenth Andersson Trophy has been established to acknowledge individuals, institutions and organisations who over past quarter of a century have contributed to the development of the Belgrade Marathon into the most significant annual sports event in Belgrade.

Pat Butcher