Track records were falling in Otrokovice, Kenyan Kimaiyo won the half marathon

Twenty-nine-year-old Kuptum Hillary Kimaiyo won in a time of 1:04:13, Kipkorir Albert Tonui finished in silver position with a loss of 1 minute and 34 seconds, Kipkorir Bernard Koros took third place (1:06:47), Jiří Homoláč finished fourth ( VSK University of Brno, 1:08:08).

“Right after the start, the favored Kenyans fought their way to the front. Homoláč tried to keep them in the first round. But he slowed down at the beginning of the second circuit. At the end of the second lap, Kimaiyo moved into first place, who kept increasing his lead slightly in the first position for the rest of the race. The winner reached the finish line in a very high-quality track record,” pointed out race manager Michal Petřík.

The most successful regional athlete in the half marathon was Filip Vabroušek (AK Zlín, 1:09:25) in fifth place.

Among the regional runners, Pavel Žajdlík from Ostrožská Lhota finished eighth in 1:13:42, local František Klofáč (KESBUK, 1:20:18) twelfth, Jiří Daněk from Uherské Hradiště (1:20:21) thirteenth and Tomáš Procházka ( TJ Jiskra Otrokovice, 1:20:47) fourteenth.

“In Otrokovice, I wanted to improve my personal half-marathon record. I managed to do that by 3 minutes on a flat track. I ran the race at an average pace of 3:20 per kilometer. In the end, I managed to increase my pace even more,” praised a satisfied Filip Vabroušek at the finish line.

The race was the Moravian and Silesian Half Marathon Championship. The title was won by Jiří Homoláč, ahead of Filip Vabroušek, while David Kaláb (AC Track & Field Brno, 1:11:20) took the bronze.

It was run in ideal conditions. It was cloudy, the temperature was around 10 degrees. But the wind was blowing on the track in some sections.

The women’s race in the Otrokovice Half Marathon was also dominated by Kenyans, who took all the medal positions. Glorius Jepkirui triumphantly won the women’s track record, finishing on the gold bar in 1:13:25. Defending champion from last year, Eva Filipiová (AK Olymp Brno, 1:18:39) finished fourth, just behind the Kenyans. Šárka Havlíková (Mattoni FreeRun Zlín, 1:42:52) was the most successful regional endurance athlete on the half-marathon course in 9th place.

Eva Filipiová won the women’s half-marathon title in the Moravian and Silesian Championships, Barbora Vahalíková (Atletika Nový Jičín, 1:20:02) won the silver.

In Otrokovice, as part of Podmolík’s memorial, they organized a few more races. Daniel Orálek (AC Moravská Slavia Brno, 4:41:20) dominated the marathon and a half (63.3 kilometers). On the same track, the 63.3-kilometer women’s race was won by Slovak Ivana Butoracová (4:59:36) in a track record.

Local Filip Bukovjan (2B Winner Team/KESBUK, 2:46:38) won the Otrokovice marathon, ahead of Petr Kučera (Grymov, 2:47:00), third was Petr Vabroušek (Titan Trilife Zlín, 2:56:15). The women’s marathon was won by Adéla Vegschmiedová (Czech Running Club, 3:36:07).

The Otrokovice Marathon was the Marathon Championship of Moravia and Silesia. The marathon title was thus won by home endurance Filip Bukovjan.

All Otrokovice races took place as part of the Network 21 running festival Otrokovice 2023.

Lubomír Hotař