BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 3. An award ceremony to
honor the winners of the "Baku Marathon 2026" was held, Trend reports.
The marathon was organized at the initiative of the Heydar
Aliyev Foundation.
At the marathon's finish line in Sea Breeze, the winners were
honored with medals presented by Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-President of
the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, founder and Head of the IDEA Public
Union.
The ceremony was also attended by Anar Alakbarov, Assistant to
the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Executive Director of
the Heydar Aliyev Center, and Emin Agalarov, President of Agalarov
Development.
Following the presentation, a commemorative photo was taken with
the participants.
Ahmet Alkanoğlu from Türkiye secured the top spot in the men's
category, becoming the first athlete to cross the finish line,
followed by Ukrainian runner Vitaliy Shafar, and Yrskeldi Akerov of
Kyrgyzstan, who secured third third place.
In the women's competition, Elena Tolstykh from Russia claimed
the first place, while Azerbaijan's Anna Yusupova earned a
distinguished second-place finish, with Shirin Akimbay from
Kazakhstan taking third place.
The 9th edition of the marathon, welcoming runners from
different countries, including Azerbaijan, the U.S., China,
Germany, UK, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Russia,
Türkiye, and Ukraine, brought together 25,000 participants racing
under the slogan “Win the Wind.
Held under the motto “Win the Wind,” the ninth edition of the
Baku Marathon marked a significant milestone by introducing the
full 42 km marathon distance for the first time.
