Austria’s largest active sports event – an inspiring sporting atmosphere
Vienna (OTS) – A few minutes ago, the last of the over 42,000 registered runners for the Vienna City Marathon crossed the finish line in front of Vienna’s Burgtheater. An initial positive balance can now be drawn. “We are thrilled by the great atmosphere of this day and satisfied that the Vienna City Marathon went well. The participants from 143 nations gave their best in the seven competitions on the marathon weekend. On Sunday there were significantly better weather conditions than had been feared, so that runners and fans were able to celebrate a unifying celebration,” said VCM managing directors Kathrin Widu and Dominik Konrad.
Sporting highlights in the marathon competition
Chala Regasa and Nazret Weldu set the sporting highlights. The Ethiopian crossed the finish line in 2:06:35 hours and achieved the third fastest time ever in the history of the race. The Kenyans Bernard Muia and Albert Kangogo followed in second and third place with a very large gap in 2:10:42 and 2:10:44 respectively.
In cold and sometimes windy conditions, Nazret Weldu also ran to a confident victory. With 2:24:08 she secured qualification for the Olympic Games in Paris this summer. At the same time, she ensured Eritrea’s first victory in the history of the Vienna City Marathon. Surprisingly, newcomer Faith Chepkoech took second place in 2:26:22. Her Kenyan compatriot Rebecca Tanui came third in 2:26:53.
Austria’s record runner Julia Mayer came tenth in 2:31:25 hours. Mario Bauernfeind celebrated as the best Austrian in 15th place in 2:14:19 hours. Marathon record holder Peter Herzog made a pleasing comeback in 2:15:29 in 19th place.
With 42,625 runners registered in all VCM competitions, the organizers recorded the third highest registration result in the event’s history. Only in 2017 and 2015 were there slightly more registrations.
The event took place without any notable incidents and was carried out in a spirited manner. The cool weather conditions are also reflected in the unremarkable intervention numbers of the Vienna Red Cross: 158 aid services, of which 28 were hospital transports.
Hundreds of thousands were at over 40 hot spots and cheering zones to cheer on the runners and celebrate the winners on the Ringstrasse between Rathausplatz and in front of the Burgtheater.
Precise and successful collaboration
From a police perspective, the event went well and was carried out in professional cooperation with all those responsible. The cooperating teams worked together with new ideas but with the usual quality,” said operations commander Major General Thomas Losko. In order to make this event possible, tailored to all needs, the largest planning and traffic engineering concept in Vienna is required every year. The VCM cooperates with 115 authorities and institutions.
Questions & Contact:
Vienna City Marathon
Mag.(FH) Katharina Kula
Media work & stories
+43 676 3859455 from
katharina@vienna-marathon.com
Mag. Andreas Maier, Corporate Communications & Sports
+43 650 350 14 88
andreas@vienna-marathon.com