More than 10,000 runners lighten downtown Athens in half marathon
Xinhua, May 4, 2015 Adjust font size:
More than 10,000 runners from Greece and abroad ran different races of the 4th Athens Half Marathon on Sunday, enjoying the beauty of downtown Athens free of vehicles.
According to the Hellenic Athletics Federation and the Municipality of Athens, coorganizers of the annual event from 2012, more than 4,000 runners competed this year's half marathon while more than 8,000 people ran the 5km and 3km road races.
Michalis Parmakis, who was struggling with fever, won the half marathon with 1:11:58. He was followed by Georgios Menis with 1:12:36. Seconds later, Giorgos Karavidas arrived at the finish line in front of the parliament building with 1:12:58.
In the 5km and 3km road races, the winners were Christos Kallias and Jorgo Mino with 15:35 and 8:35 respectively.
Organizers said the Athens Half Marathon, exclusively held in the streets of the Athens city center, is acknowledged as a major national, cultural, tourist and sport event, with the participation of more and more runners from other countries. Endi