Elite runners from Ethiopia won both the women’s and men’s races at the 30th anniversary edition of the ORLEN Prague Marathon 2025. Last year’s winner, Lemi Berhanu Hayle, defended his title with a start-to-finish victory on the Old Town Square, while his compatriot, Bertukan Welde Sura, dominated the women’s competition.
The weather on Sunday morning in the Czech capital was quite favourable, with temperatures around 15 degrees; however, in some sections, the runners had to contend with stronger winds.
In the men’s race, Lemi Berhanu Hayle pulled away from his final rivals after two-thirds of the course and crossed the finish line in the second-fastest time in Prague Marathon history: 2:05:14 — just five seconds over the course record. ‘I’m very happy to have won here for the second time. The wind was a bit of a problem in places, but I tried to keep to the optimum pace,’ explained the winner.
Felix Kipkoech from Kenya came second, while Tetsuya Yoroizaka from Japan secured third place. The bronze medallist of the Asian Championships over 3,000 and 10,000 metres remained under the 2:10 mark for the fourth time in his career.
In the women’s race, a leading group formed shortly before the 30-kilometre mark. Bertukan Welde Sura, who covered a large part of the course together with top Czech runners, won in 2:20:55, improving her personal best by 59 seconds. The Kenyans Evaline Chirchir and Pascalia Chepkosgei followed in second and third place.
Czech Championships as part of the marathon
The ORLEN Prague Marathon was also the venue for the Czech Championships. The 24-year-old Yann Havlena was crowned national champion for the first time in his career. Havlena, who mainly trains in Switzerland, prevailed against experienced competitors and reached the finish line in 2:21:12 — completely exhausted. Just eight seconds behind him, Vít Pavlišta secured silver and his 38th medal at the Czech Championships. Bronze went to last year’s winner, Martin Edlman.
In the women’s event, there was no doubt about the home victory: the top favourite, Tereza Hrochová, lived up to her role. The two-time Olympian celebrated her marathon debut at the national championships with a commanding victory and a lead of over eight minutes. With her time of 2:34:04, she finished in a respectable seventh place overall. ‘I really enjoyed it, but it’s a new challenge that I still have to work on,’ said a delighted Hrochová at the finish.
Petra Pastorová finished runner-up and can now look back on a collection of six gold, one silver and one bronze medal at national marathon championships. Eva Filipiová won her third bronze medal in this discipline.
Prominent participants and records
The ORLEN Prague Marathon also attracted stars from other sports: two-time Wimbledon winner Barbora Strýcová completed her marathon debut in a strong time of 3:18 hours, despite a knee injury.
Among the more than 10,000 participants were six runners who have completed all previous editions of the race. Traditionally, the Junior Marathon, one of the oldest races in the RunCzech series, was a highlight of the weekend. Twenty-five school teams competed for victory in Prague.
The ORLEN Prague Marathon once again carried the ‘Elite Label’ of the World Athletics Federation (World Athletics). In total, over 13,000 runners took part in the various races over the marathon weekend.
ORLEN Prague Marathon 2025 – official results:
Winner 2025 Men:
1st Lemi Berhanu ETH 2:05:14
2nd Felix Kipkoech KEN 2:07:19
3rd Tetsuya Yoroizaka JPN 2:09:10
Winner 2025 women:
1st Bertukan Welde Sura ETH 2:20:55
2nd Evaline Chirchir KEN 2:21:25
3rd Pascalia Chepkogei KEN 2:22:11
Czech Championship 2025 – Men:
1st Yann Havlena 2:21:12
2nd Vit Pavlista 2:21:20
3rd Martin Edlman 2:21:49
Czech Championship 2025 – Women:
1st Tereza Hrochova 2:34:04
2nd Petra Pastorova 2:42:45
3rd Eva Filipiová 2:43:26
