Israelis conquer Jerusalem Marathon, as coronavirus keeps field local
Yamar Gethon wins men’s event with a time of 2:24:07; Beatie Deutsch take women’s half-marathon after recent recovery from COVID-19
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Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
Israeli athletes made a clean sweep of top spots in the Jerusalem Marathon on Friday, taking first, second, and third places in the full- and half-distance races.
Some 20,000 people participated in the event, which included courses for the marathon along with 21 kilometers, 10 kilometers, and short family runs.
Many international athletes apparently stayed away due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions it has prompted on travel between countries, including Israel, which only plans to open its border to individual tourists starting in November.
Yamar Gethon, 29, an Ethiopian Israeli resident of the capital, won the men’s marathon event with a time of 2:24:07. According to the Jerusalem Municipality website, Gethon set a new Israeli record for the course, which winds its way up and down the city’s hills and valleys.
“Running in Jerusalem is my dream,” Gethon said after the race.
Gethon noted that while he had recently run in the Berlin Marathon, “it was very important to me to compete here today.”
The athlete hopes to represent Israel at the Paris Summer Olympics in 2024.
בירושלים חיכו למרתון העשור יותר משנה וחצי, לאחר שבוטל בשנה שעברה בשל מגפת הקורונה והבוקר הוא הוזנק עם אלפי מתחריםhttps://t.co/MuF6YSuiug
— shvoong.co.il (@shvoong_twitt) October 29, 2021
Anna Price, 45, took gold in the women’s marathon with a time of 3:25:50.
Also putting on a winning performance was Bracha “Beatie” Deutsch, a 32-year-old Haredi mother of five, who took first place in the women’s half-marathon, completing the 21-kilometer course in 1:20:40. The winner of the men’s half-marathon was Aimro Almiya, 31, with a time of 01:07:52.
Deutsch, who ran the race wearing a skirt that has become emblematic of her style as an Orthodox athlete, posted on Facebook her delight at her achievement, coming after a bout of COVID-19.
“After an extremely difficult past month recovering from Corona, and still not quite back to myself, I felt so incredibly blessed to win the @jerusalem_marathon Half in a time of 1:20, a new course record and I enjoyed every minute,” she wrote.
FEELS GOOD TO BE HOME ???? YERUSHALAYIM You are my home and there is nothing truly as special as running through your…
Posted by Beatie Deutsch on Friday, October 29, 2021
Second and third place in the men’s full marathon event were taken by Ajaz Guadi, 32, (2:29:49) and Barhan Balata, 50, (2:41:20), respectively.
In the women’s marathon, second and third runners in were Reut Baruch, 39, (3:51:08) and Dalit Levin, 44, (3:52:52)
The full marathon first places each picked up NIS 12,000 ($3,800) for their efforts, second place runners got NIS 8,000, and third place NIS 4,000.
The annual marathon event is usually held in April but this year had been put off due to a wave of COVID-19 infections. The marathon was not held in 2020 at all.
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