Reda Saleem (Dubai)
The 22nd edition of the Dubai International Marathon, which was held in Expo City, achieved many gains in terms of organization and participation in the event, which is coming back again after a 3-year hiatus. The participation reached 16,975 runners of different nationalities and ages from inside and outside the country, and the total prizes amounted to more than half a million. dollar.
The marathon, in its new location, presented a wonderful picture of the Expo City, and the biggest gain was the spread of pictures and videos of the event on social media in all languages through participants from multiple nationalities, which made the marathon more like a major sports festival that brings together the elite with families.
The marathon witnessed a strange paradox, as the Ethiopian Abdisa Tola Adira, the men’s champion, and his compatriot, Dera Dida Yami, the women’s champion, are from one family, because Dida is the sister of Tola’s wife, which is the secret of the family celebration after the end of the race.
For his part, Counselor Ahmed Al-Kamali, General Coordinator of the Marathon, expressed his happiness at the return of the race to appear globally after an absence of nearly three years, due to the restrictions imposed by the Corona virus on international sports, and said: “All marathons of the world were affected by the compulsory stop due to the Corona virus, and the numbers of the Berlin Marathon, indicate Accordingly, after the last edition witnessed the participation of 10,000 out of 40,000 male and female competitors before stopping, and therefore we consider the return of the Dubai Marathon with a participation size of 50%, a good thing, but it confirms that we need, before the next version, more promotional work, in order for the event to regain its glory and status. on the world stage.”
Al-Kamali thanked the Dubai Sports Council for its support for the marathon, and His Excellency Matar Al Tayer, Vice President of the Dubai Sports Council, for attending and crowning the champions. She contributed a lot to the establishment and success of the Dubai Marathon.
He said: «I expect the marathon to regain its luster quickly during the next editions, given the long-standing and great history of the Dubai Marathon in the world of marathon races, and the number of participants in this edition is 16,975 male and female competitors, which is approximately 50% of the participation volume in the last edition before stopping. And I expected to reach 20,000 participants, but the long absence, and perhaps changing the location of the marathon, were influencing factors.
He added: “Standing on the reasons for not reaching the expected participation volume, based on the detailed numbers of participation, including the participation of 5,363 competitors in the 4 km race, where 25% fell from the 21st edition, and 8,640 in the 10 km race, which is about 10,000 less than the last appearance before. The cessation, and the number of participants in the wheelchair race decreased from 35 to only 7 participants, but among the positive numbers is the participation of 3965 in the main marathon race, which is almost double the number of participants in the 21st edition, which confirms the runners’ longing for the return of life to the marathon races.
The general coordinator of the marathon indicated that the achievement of the lead trio in the main marathon race of 42.195 km, with close times of 2:05 hours, and the entry of more than one runner with a difference of seconds to the finish line, are among the most prominent positives, and on the other hand, the times of the women’s race champions were not good. Enough compared to the race numbers achieved in the Dubai Marathon, and the runners may have been affected by the wind in some areas because 70% of the race course was in open areas.
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