KARACHI: Saqib Khan led a contingent of 18 Pakistani runners at the 48th Istanbul Marathon on Sunday, completing the 42.195-kilometre race in 2 hours, 49 minutes and 33 seconds.
Mohammad Sajjad was the second Pakistani across the finish line in 3:17:29, followed by Iqbal Ali Khan, who clocked 3:23:58. The three headed the Pakistani participation in an event widely known as the world’s only intercontinental marathon.
The race began on Istanbul’s Asian side near the July 15 Martyrs Bridge, crossed the Bosphorus into Europe and ended at Sultanahmet Square.
Organised for the 48th time, the event is part of the international road-running calendar and offers participants the unusual experience of racing between two continents.
Kenya’s Philimon Kiptoo Kipchumba won the men’s race in 2:08:44, setting a course record, while Ethiopia’s Kasanesh Ayenew Baze took the women’s title in 2:24:40.
Other Pakistani finishers were Irfan Ali, Kamran Yousaf, Mohammad Asad Siddiqi, Mohammad Zeeshan Ali, Adeel Mansoor Khan, Mehnaz Naveed, Mohammad Gulraiz Khan, Mohammad Asad Khan, Nofel Elahi, Qaseem Saeed, Mohammad Asher Siddiqi, Sunaina, Mohammad Jahanzaib Khan, Fahad Mansoori and Mohammad Arsal Ayub.-Sports Reporter