The third Chisinau International Marathon held on October 1 brought together about 17,000 participants. These ran on the central streets of Chisinau, starting and ending the races in the central square of the capital city. The best athletes were conferred medals, IPN reports.

In a press release, the organizers say the competitors included not only Moldovan athletes, but also many foreign runners for whom the Chisinau Marathon was a new experience. This year the organizers introduced a new competitive distance of 5 km intended for beginners.

The winners in the women’s 5 km race were Mihaela Botnari, Inna Ruleac and Valeria Capmare, while in the men’s race were Strycer Clayton, Dumitru Nicolaev and Nicolai Pavlenco.

The fastest men in the 10 race were Maxim Raileanu, Mihail Bizniuc and Sandu Lupusor, while the fastest women were Iuliana Tkacheva, Daniela Ciocan and Iuliana Oancea.

Gennady Tambalist, Roman Ciobanu and Liviu Croitoru emerged victorious in the semi-marathon. In the 21 km race, the fastest women were Lilia Fisicovich, Natalia Clipca and Victoria Bondarenco.

The 42 km (marathon) race was won by Nicolai Gorbushko, who was followed by Tudor Cebotari and Oleg Bimbas. Among women, the winners in this race were Olesea Smovjenco, Cristina Bohomeahcova and Natalia Zbarnea.

The idea of holding an international marathon in Chisinau on an annual basis was put forward by the public organization Sporter. The first such marathon took place on April 26, 2015 and gathered about 10,000 participants who competed in the 3, 10, 21,0975 and 42,195 km races. The second marathon in Chisinau, held on April 17, 2016, involved approximately 15,000 contenders.