The Istanbul Half Marathon () is an annual road running event over the half marathon distance (21.1 km) that takes place on the streets of Istanbul, Turkey in April. The event is sponsored by Vodafone. It was promoted to the IAAF Gold Label status for 2017.
History The event was established in 1987 under the name "Haliç Yarı Maratonu" ("Golden Horn Half Marathon"), and continued to run until 1993. After a break of 17 years, it revived in 2010 under the name "8th International Golden Horn Half Marathon" with participation of around 1,500 athletes from 22 nations.
The organization of the half marathon took afour-year break until 2015 when the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality re-established the road running event under the name "Istanbul Half Marathon", and Vodafon took over the sponsorship. The start-finish line of the event was relocated to Balat on the coast of Golden Horn.
The first edition immediately attracted high caliber elite runners, resulting in quick winning times of 1:00:13 minutes in the men's category and 1:06:38 minutes in the women's race.HALF MARATHON ELITE . Istanbul Yari Maratonu (2015). Retrieved on 2016-04-24. A total of 2,095 runners finished the inaugural mass race in Istanbul.21K Results . Istanbul Yari Maratonu (2015). Retrieved on 2016-04-24.
The event was organized by Istanbul Sports Events – the organizer of the long-running Istanbul Marathon event. The half marathon course begins and ends in Eyüp in the central-western part of the city, following a route south to the seafront area of Eminönü. Among other sights, it passes the Golden Horn, Yenikapı square and Kadir Has University. Kenyan athletes dominate Istanbul Half Marathon. Daily Sabah (2015-04-18). Retrieved on 2016-04-24. A 10K run is also hosted for amateur runners and this section had over 1500 finishers in 2016.10K Results . Istanbul Yari Maratonu (2016). Retrieved on 2016-04-24.
The 2016 edition of the race gained IAAF Bronze Label status and the field included world record breakers Zersenay Tadese and Leonard Patrick Komon.Ramsak, Bob (2016-04-22). World record-holders Tadese and Komon to clash in Istanbul. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-04-24. That year, the event was staged on the same weekend as the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey.Road closures for two races in Istanbul on Sunday. Daily Sabah (2016-04-23). Retrieved on 2016-04-24.
In December 2016, it was announced that the event was promoted to IAAF Gold Label status for 2017.
The race in 2021 ended with a course record in 59:32 by Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie| and a world record for women in 1:04:02 by Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich.
Past winners Legend: CR: Course record WR: World record YearMen's winnerTime (h:m:s)Women's winnerTime (h:m:s)20141:05:201:16:3320151:00:131:06:372016Ramsak, Bob (2016-04-24). Kaya and Jepchumba cruise to Istanbul Half Marathon titles. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-04-24.1:00:161:08:1820171:00:091:06:19201859:501:06:22201959:561:05:3020201:03:161:13:17202159:351:04:02CR202259:15CR1:04:48202359:521:06:30202459:471:06:47202559:401:06:07
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