European Athletics president Svein Arne Hansen was one of the special guests at the Sofia International Marathon on Sunday.
Hansen visited the Bulgarian capital after attending the European Athletics Event & Competition Commission which met in Pravets and was chaired by Council member Toralf Nilsson.
Hansen also met European Athletics Vice-President and President of Bulgarian Athletics Dobromir Karamarinov who introduced him to the Minister of Youth and Sport Krasen Kralev during his visit.
Hansen rounded off his visit to Bulgaria with an appearance at the Sofia International Marathon where he was handed the duty of official race starter alongside long-standing world high jump record-holder Stefka Kostadinova.
At the start of the Sofia marathon with current world High Jump record holder Stefka Kostadinova & Bulgarian sport minister Krasen Kralev pic.twitter.com/xj10MkJKDh
— Svein Arne Hansen (@SvenPres) October 9, 2016
The Sofia International Marathon has been granted 3-star certification by European Athletics Running for All and is one of 200 unique races across Europe to be certified.
“With 200 certified road races by Running for All, European Athletics can now be considered as a leading partner in mass participation running,” said Hansen on the development of the Running for All platform.
While thousands of runners took part across the programme from 3km up to the full distance, international bragging rights were also up for grabs in the elite races. Ethiopian athletes got the better of their Kenyan rivals this time with Gudeta Biratu (2:15:55) and Belaynesh Yigezu (2:39:39) claiming the titles.
The Sofia International Marathon also incorporated the Balkan Marathon Championships. There was a home win for Ilya Kutsarov who finished sixth overall in 2:28:25 to claim the Balkan title while Sladjana Perunovic from Montenegro finished fifth overall in 2:49:20 to claim the women’s title.
The European Athletics Quality Road Race standards act as an assurance for road runners throughout Europe. They distinguish between races that respect the standards and those that haven’t sought certification or assessment. They form the foundation of Running for All, a strong recognisable brand for running activities throughout Europe.
More information on Running for All:
Website: european-running4all.org
Twitter: @runningforall
Contact: [email protected]