East African runners Rhonzas Kilimo and Bizuager Aderra won spectacular battles to take the 47th edition of the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Marathon in warm weather conditions.
The 29 year-old Kenyan, Kilimo, crossed the line in 2:10:12 after a duel with the defending champion Dejene Debela in the final uphill section of the race. Last year’s winner was second with 2:10:23 while fellow-Ethiopian Sufaro Woliyi took third in 2:10:26.
The women’s race produced the closest finish in the history of the race. 22 year-old Bizuager Aderra became the surprise champion with a personal best of 2:26:19, just two seconds ahead of fellow-Ethiopian Sofia Assefa in second place.
Joan Kilimo of Kenya, who is not related to the men’s winner, took third with 2:26:36.
Both Kilimo and Aderra celebrated their biggest career wins and were rewarded with a winner’s prize of 50,000 US Dollar each.
Organisers of the 47th edition of the event registered around 6,000 entries for the marathon. Adding races at shorter distance the total number of runners was 42,000.
The Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Marathon is a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race and the major marathon of the country.
The Men’s Race
The men ran a relatively even pace for well over the first half. After passing through 10k in 30:41 a group of 16 athletes including four pacemakers then reached the half way point in 64:41.
However, the attempt to break the six year old 2:09:44 course record of Kenya’s Daniel Kibet then suddenly stumbled when the pace dropped considerably and the 25th kilometre was run in 3:15.
Splits became inconsistent and a tactical race developed. With temperatures rising to around 20 Celsius it was now about victory and not about the course record.
Spectators and those watching the live stream witnessed a thrilling contest, when five runners entered the final steep uphill section which is just less than a mile long.
Rhonzas Kilimo, Dejene Debela, Sufaro Woliyi, Kenya’s Isaac Too and Hüseyin Can of Turkiye formed the leading group.
The runner from Turkiye, who surprisingly had pushed the pace a couple of times before, was the first to fall behind. But he was later rewarded with a personal best of 2:10:58 and a strong fifth place. After the first part of the hill Too and Woliyi could not hold on.
With around one kilometre to go Kilimo, who has a 2:06:09 PB, moved slightly ahead of defending champion Debela. The Ethiopian was not beaten yet, but Kilimo was able to keep the pace high despite the uphill section. After covering the 42nd kilometre in 3:02 he crossed the line in 2:10:12.
“I had no clue about the uphill section at the end of the race, it was a surprise to me. But I train in hilly areas around Iten,“ said Rhonzas Kilimo, who lives in Iten with his wife and three children.
“This was my biggest win so far,“ said the Kenyan, who ran his PB when he was runner-up in the Seoul Marathon in 2024. “My next goal is to achieve a 2:03 time when I run on a fast course.“
The Women’s Race
The women’s race provided even more drama in the late stages of the marathon. After split times of 33:38 (10k) and 71:22 (half marathon) a group of five women formed the lead behind two pacemakers.
Ethiopians Bizuager Aderra, Tigst Getnet, Gete Dukale and Sofia Assefa, who was the silver medallist in the Olympic Steeple Chase final in 2012, were joined by Kenya’s Joan Kilimo.
When they passed 25k in 1:24:45 they were still on course for a finishing time of sub 2:23:00. However as in the men’s race the pace dropped in the final third of the race when it was warming up in the sunshine.
With around eight kilometres to go Assefa fell behind a couple of seconds. But the Ethiopian managed to close the gap and get back to the group while Dukale lost contact.
With one kilometre to go four women were still in contention for victory. Getnet and Kilimo dropped back next while Assefa then edged slightly ahead of Aderra. But it was youngster Aderra, who was stronger. Taking the lead again with 400m to go she opened a small gap when she could see the finishing at Sultan Ahmet Park.
“This was the biggest win of my life and a personal best as well,” said Aderra, who had a PB of 2:28:27 from Rabat earlier this year.
“My next goal will be to achieve a time of sub 2:20,“ said the 22 year-old winner, who ran her seventh marathon in Istanbul.
Selected Results – Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Marathon 2025
Men:
- Rhonzas Kilimo KEN – 2:10:12
- Dejene Debela ETH – 2:10:23
- Sufaro Woliyi ETH – 2:10:26
- Isaac Too KEN – 2:10:45
- Hüseyin Can TUR – 2:10:58
- Dickson Nyakundi KEN – 2:12:15
- Charles Mneria KEN – 2:13:04
- Dominik Bett KEN – 2:17:26
Women:
- Bizuager Aderra ETH – 2:26:19
- Sofia Assefa ETH – 2:26:21
- Joan Kilimo KEN – 2:26:36
- Tigst Getnet ETH – 2:26:44
- Gete Dukale ETH – 2:29:19
- Roman Gidey ETH – 2:29:53
- Rael Cherop KEN – 2:32:25
- Yenenesh Tilahun Dinkesa ETH – 2:34:03