Around 20,500 people signed up for this year's ASICS Stockholm Marathon, slightly down from the year before. The race is a two-lap course through the central parts of Stockholm — from the woods of the Djurgården royal park to some of the city's most famous streets. The course passes buildings such as the Royal Palace, City Hall, the Royal Opera and the Parliament. It's considered one of the most scenic marathon courses in the world.
Runners from 101 nations participated, a new record. Another record-breaking number was the number of women who signed up this year – around 28 percent of the competitors were female.
Runners had to put up with less-than-ideal conditions — it was rainy, cool and windy. But the weather didn't keep these heroes at home.
The winner in the men's division was Yekeber Bayabel from Ethiopia. He ran the race in two hours, 18 minutes and 22 seconds — three minutes before Mohammad Jafar Moradi from Iran. Women’s victor Isabellah Andersson (pictured at top) came in at two hours, 34 minutes and 14 seconds. It wasn’t quite her best time, but her seventh victory in seven attempts. Not too bad.
The surprise of the day was Fredrik Johansson, who ran the race in 2:23:05. At the 35-kilometer mark, the Swede was in fifth place. But in a strong push towards the end, he was able to pass two runners and secure a third-place finish.
All photos: TT
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