Defending champions Dejene Debela of Ethiopia and Bahrain’s Ruth Jebet will both be returning for the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Marathon on 2nd November. They achieved impressive victories here last year in very windy conditions and will hope for better weather allowing faster times.
The 47th edition of Turkiye’s major marathon will once again feature strong fields and the event continues to be ranked as a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race, guaranteeing high standards in every aspect. The Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Marathon is actually one of the oldest Gold Label marathons in the world. It has been at this level uninterruptedly since 2012 and is one of very few races that has maintained this high status for such a long period.
With exactly one month to go organisers from Spor Istanbul registered a total of 42,000 entries for the event so far, including races at shorter distances. Around 6,000 of them will compete over the classic distance on Istanbul’s unique course. Starting on the Asian side of this huge city the runners will then cross into Europe on the July 15 Martyrs Bridge and later finish in Istanbul’s old historic centre next to the Blue Mosque. Entries will still be accepted until 14th October at: https://maraton.istanbul
“We are delighted to be organizing the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Marathon, the world’s only intercontinental marathon, for the 47th time. Our Gold Label race will once again welcome great athletes. The participation of defending champions clearly demonstrates that the Istanbul Marathon is a prestigious and consistent event highly valued by elite runners. Istanbul will, as always, offer participants a truly exceptional marathon experience on an international level,”said Bilge Donuk, the new Race Director.
Dejene Debela came back from a period with injuries last year and then achieved his biggest career win at the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Marathon with 2:11:40. The 30 year-old features a strong personal best of 2:05:46 from Chicago in 2019. When the Ethiopian returns to the Bosphorus the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Marathon will be his biggest race of the year.
Two Kenyans will probably be among Debela’s strongest challengers. Rhonzas Kilimo has produced a strong marathon performance in each of the past two years. The 29 year-old was fifth in Hamburg in 2023 with 2:08:08 and then improved to 2:06:09 as the runner-up at the Seoul Marathon last year. With this PB Kilimo is the second fastest on the Istanbul start list behind Debela. Denis Chirchir has shown fine marathon performances in 2023 and 2024 as well. The 35 year-old clocked his personal best of 2:07:17 when he took second place in Hannover two years ago. In 2024 he won the Kosice Marathon with 2:07:50. Chirchir trains in Iten and is coached by renowned Italian Renato Canova. Germany’s Amanal Petros, who sensationally won silver in Tokyo’s World Championships’ marathon last month, is a friend and training partner of Chirchir.
Jake Robertson is one of a few strong non-African entrants for the race on 2nd November. The New Zealander has a 2:08:26 PB but has struggled with injuries in recent years. Robertson has not yet competed in 2025.
Returning to Istanbul Ruth Jebet is not only the defending champion but also the favourite. The former Kenyan, who competes for Bahrain since the age of 16 and then became the 2016 Olympic Champion as well as the world record holder in the steeplechase, achieved her biggest marathon victory so far in Istanbul last year. Targeting a sub 2:20:00 and then her 2:23:08 PB, neither materialized in 2024 because of the wind. But Ruth Jebet’s winning time of 2:24:45 was an extraordinary achievement taking into account the conditions. She had distanced a strong field by almost nine minutes, the biggest winning margin since 2015 in Istanbul. Back then of course the international field was far less competitive.
After taking the runner-up spot in Daegu this year with 2:25:43 Ruth Jebet will be eager to finish 2025 on a high in Istanbul. However the 28 year-old, who missed out on selection for the World Championships, will have no easy path to victory at the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Marathon. There are two athletes from Ethiopia who have personal bests close to Jebet’s 2:23:08. Tigst Getnet ran 2:23:17 in her debut marathon in Dubai where she was fifth in 2023 and Sofia Assefa’s PB stands at 2:23:33 from Amsterdam two years ago. The latter knows Ruth Jebet well since she was runner-up in that Olympic steeplechase final back in 2016. While Assefa was second best on most occasions they raced each other, the Ethiopian did manage to leave Jebet behind her three times on the track ten years ago. On 2nd November it will be the first time Jebet and Assefa challenge each other in a road race.
More information and online entry is available at: https://maraton.istanbul
Please note: You may use the attached photo, showing Ruth Jebet winning the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Marathon in 2024, only in conjunction with this news release with the following credit: Spor Istanbul
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