Over 11,000 athletes join marathon, cycling races in Lahore

LAHORE: More than 11,000 male and female athletes and citizens from different age groups across the country took part in marathon and cycling events organised by the Punjab Sports Department in Lahore on Sunday.

The races began from Liberty Chowk at 6am and included the Punjab Chief Minister 21-kilometre marathon and cycling competitions, along with a women’s 5km marathon, women’s 5km cycling race, a 2km family fun race and a 1km wheelchair race.

M Akhtar won the Punjab Chief Minister 21km marathon title, while Ali Ilyas secured first place in the 21km cycling event. According to the event results, runners from Sahiwal dominated the men’s 21km marathon, with M Akhtar finishing first, M Amir second and M Irfan third. They received cash prizes of Rs500,000, Rs300,000 and Rs100,000, respectively.

In the men’s 21km cycling race, Karachi’s Ali Ilyas claimed the top position. Aqib Shah of Lahore finished second and Sanaullah of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa came third. They were awarded Rs200,000, Rs100,000 and Rs50,000, respectively.

In the women’s 5km marathon, Mahnoor, Nazia Ehsan and Maria secured the top three positions. They received cash prizes of Rs200,000, Rs100,000 and Rs50,000, respectively.

Girls from Karachi swept the top three spots in the women’s 5km cycling race. Zainab finished first, followed by Anisa and Rabia. Their prize amounts were Rs100,000, Rs50,000 and Rs25,000, respectively.

In the wheelchair race, Ahmed Yar, Zahid Nazir and Nawaz Rashid took the first three positions and were awarded Rs75,000, Rs50,000 and Rs25,000, respectively. Rabia Fayaz was the only female participant in the wheelchair race and received Rs50,000. All athletes who took part in the wheelchair race were also given Rs10,000 each. Cash prizes were also distributed to athletes finishing from fourth to 20th place in all other races.

Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar, who also took part in the cycling race, distributed total cash prizes worth Rs3.8 million among winners and other prominent performers in the marathon and cycling events.

Speaking to the media, Faisal Ayub said the event reflected the Punjab chief minister’s vision of Khelta Punjab. "We are targeting the registration of one lakh athletes in next mega event planned for Oct/Nov this year," he added.

He said it was encouraging to see athletes from Karachi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other parts of the country participating in the event.

SBP Vice-Chairman Malik Suleman, Secretary Sports Punjab Muhammad Ali, DG Sports Muhammad Tariq Qureshi, Director Admin Abid Shaukat, Director Sports Chand Perveen, Deputy Director Zahoor Ahmed, former Olympian Shabana Akhtar and a large number of sports enthusiasts were also present.