Who won the longest distance of the Minsk Half Marathon – 2026

Runners from Africa finished first at a distance of 21,097 km at the Minsk Half Marathon - 2026, reports the correspondent of the agency "Minsk-Novosti".

The men won Boya Davi Maganga from Tanzania. He thanked the organizers and said that the track was cool and he liked Minsk.

Russian Dmitry Soikka finished second.

- You always want to win, he smiled. The opponent from Tanzania is a very high-level athlete. He set a high pace and keeping up with it was incredibly difficult. I felt him slowly moving forward, breaking away. We could have gone on a chase. But in this case, there might not be enough strength for the end. He kept about 40 seconds away from him but ran at his pace. Satisfied with setting a personal record. By the way, I have Belarusian roots - my dad is from here.

The winner was Hilda Kiptum from Kenya. She was a split second ahead of compatriot Cynthia Kosgeya.

Bronze - Belarusian Tatiana Shabanova. Among the participants was Olympic biathlon champion Dinara Smolskaya:

- The feeling of regret that I had embarked on this adventure was only in the first few kilometres when I saw the pace at which the elite and the leaders had gone forward. But then she ran away and enjoyed the process. I knew what was coming. My goal was to run in an hour and a half. And finished faster by 7 minutes. I don't know how I did it. Shortly before the finish I saw that I would run faster. It was cheering - I had a smile, I was getting tears.

According to D. Smolskaya, the next start for her will be the national championship in summer biathlon - it will be held in the 20th of September in the Olympic sports complex "Raubichi". She invited all fans to cheer for the participants.

- People recognized me, shouted my name – it gave strength. I exceeded the standard by 7 minutes with support. People come to such events for emotions, to feel the atmosphere. Delighted by everyone who went to the distance. The Minsk Half Marathon is energy, drive, suffering and smiles, she added.

On the territory of the stadium "Dynamo" there are a lot of entertainment locations, photo zones. For adherents of the healthy lifestyle, the sports festival “DVIZH FEST” from the Presidential Sports Club is held (end at 18:00). According to its results, a car, five bicycles, nine simulators and ten fitness bracelets will be played. As for the remaining races, at 13:00 they will start for 5 km, at 14:00 - for 3 km, at 15:00 children's races for 1.5 km will begin.

Photo by Irina Malinovskaya