Zurich Marathon organisers announce deep elite fields ahead of race day

The 2024 Zurich Maraton de Sevilla, the flattest marathon course in Europe, will be held on Sunday, 18 February, and has presented the international line-up of more than 250 elite athletes who will make up the strongest start list in its history.

As reported earlier, before the start, all the participants will pay tribute to the late Kelvin Kiptum, world record holder, and his coach Gervais Hakizimana.

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The women’s race will see Namibia's Helalia Johannes up against Ethiopia's Azmera Gebru. Kenya's Magdalyne Masai will be aiming to beat the best time achieved in Andalusia over this distance. The group of British runners, led by Calli Thakcery, are at their best level ever and will be competing for places at the Olympic Games in Paris in what will be the official trials of this federation.

Fatima Azzaharaa Ouhaddou, Meritxell Soler (first Spanish athlete at the finish line in 2023), Maria Jose Perez, Clara Simal, and Ester Navarrete are the main favourites for the Spanish Champ.

Among them, in the men's category, the last two winners and best times in history in Seville, the Ethiopians Asrar Hiyrden, winner in 2022 and current course record holder, and Gadisa Birhanu Shumie, winner last year with 2:04:59:43 will be in the mix.

Gadisa Birhanu Shumie, last year's winner with 2:04:59, will also be in the mix fighting for back-to-back wins with Eritrea’s Okubay Tsegay and national record holder from France, Morhad Amdouni will also be in the mix.

Up to 10 men have already run under 2:06:00, and 20 under 2:08:00, to which the best Spanish runners will have to be added for the Spanish Champ. 

Meanwhile, the best Spanish marathon runner in history, Abel Antón, will receive a tribute from the organisers for the 25th anniversary of his heroic deed in this city, when he was proclaimed world champion over the distance at the Seville 1999 World Championships.

The medal that the finishers of the Zurich Seville Marathon will receive contains the iconic image of the athlete from Soria crossing the finish line in the La Cartuja stadium.

"For me, returning to Seville is always very special, it is my home, where I achieved sporting glory, and receiving this tribute a quarter of a century later fills me with emotion, because I am tremendously grateful to this city, to all the Sevillians who continue to stop me in the street to take photos with me and who still remember that,” he said