The 26th edition of the International Egyptian Marathon took place last weekend at Luxor. Participating were more than 200 runners from 38 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Egypt, England, France, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland, and the US.
The marathon was held under the auspices and sponsorship of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority. It started on the West Bank of the Nile at Luxor, at the magnificent temple of Deir al-Bahari built by Queen Hatshepsut who sat on Egypt’s throne from 1478BC to 1458BC. The track passed through some of ancient Egypt’s magnificent monuments, ending again at Hatshepsut temple where the medals were handed to the winners.
Runners competed on one of three races: 12km, 21km, and 42km.
Jordanian runner Muhammad Fayez ranked first in the 42km race; another Jordanian, Bilal Hamad, won the 21km race; and a third, Muhammad Salama, won the gold medal for the 12km race. Egyptians came out third in both the 21km and the 12km races, with Usama al-Sayed and Rifaei Muhammad respectively walking off with bronze medals.
Caroline Guzman from the US won first place in the Ladies 21km race, and Rebecca McCarthy from Canada ranked first in the 12km race.
Muhammad Abdel-Qader, Deputy to Luxor Governor, participated in the Medal awarding ceremony; as did Gasser Riad Chairman of Event group and the Race Director of the Egyptian Marathon and Hisham Ibrahim, the marathon’s manager.
The International Egyptian Marathon is the only marathon in Egypt that is certified by the Association of international Marathons and Road Races (AIMS).
Watani International
14 January 2019