2023 Riyadh Marathon a sport for all

RIYADH: Runners from different parts of the world and all walks of life lined up for 2023 Riyadh Marathon on Friday.

Alongside professional athletes, beginners and children also took part in the races. The sports event included a marathon, half-marathon, 10 km race and 4 km family fun run. Winners received prizemoney totalling SR1 million ($266,666).

The marathon course included some of Riyadh’s most remarkable landmarks, starting with Mrsool Park, the stadium where international footballer Cristiano Ronaldo plays for Al-Nassr FC. The route continued through Flag Square and the Digital City.

Saudi runner Mohammed Shaween finished 10th, but broke the Saudi record for chip time in the marathon by completing the race in 2 hours 18 minutes and 6 seconds.

“Today I had the opportunity to break the Saudi record, which hadn’t been broken for over 20 years. It was an abandoned sport, but the Riyadh Marathon has revived it,” Shaween said.

President of the Sports for All Federation, Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al-Saud, handed trophies to the male winners on stage, while Prince Nawaf bin Mohammed Al-Saud gave the female winners their trophies.

Winners of each race were split into two groups based on gender, consisting of six winners per race with prizes of $30,000, $20,000, and $10,000.

Jouaher Samir from Morocco completed the marathon in 2 hours 8 minutes and 41 seconds to win the men’s event.

“It was a beautiful race, a very difficult two-lap track. The weather was no help at all, otherwise my time would have been faster,” Samir said.

“But my performance improved the last 20 km. I was up there without any competition in those last meters, and I won. I thank God for this victory. I would like to thank the