The Top Runners who will participate in the 21st Enel Milano Marathon on Sunday were presented this afternoon at the Milano Running Festival at the MiCo – Milano Convention Center in CityLife, home of the Marathon Village.
Once again in 2023, the elite starting list set up by RCS Sports & Events – RCS Active Team with Rosa Associati is nothing short of extraordinary.
In the men’s category, the greatest expectation is for the 42.195 km debut of Yeman Crippa, the reigning European champion over 10,000 metres and Italian record holder from 3,000 metres to the half-marathon. For the Enel Milano Marathon Ambassador, Milan will be the first important step towards a new phase in his career and the fast Milan route seems to fit him well. Fresh from a long high altitude training camp in Kenya, Crippa also proved his talent for road running, dominating the Naples half marathon in an incredible 59.26.
With a personal best of 2h04.32, the Kenyan Dickson Chumba will be another star of the race, thanks to his experience gained from international successes such as Tokyo, Chicago, Eindhoven and Rome. Among the most likely outsiders are Ethiopian Solomon Deksisa (2h04.40) and Kenyan Gideon Kipketer (2h05.51), as well as Eritreans Mogos Shumay (2h07.10) and Okubay Gebretnsae (2h06.46). The debuts of Andrew Rotich (Uga) and Domininc Ngeno (Ken) are to be kept an eye on.
Also representing the Italian colours will be the Sicilian Giuseppe Gerratana, who will try to concretely improve on his personal best of 2h13.00.
Sofiia Yaremchuk, who boasts a personal best of 2h25.36 achieved last October in Frankfurt, is the great hope among the Italian female participants. The 2022 Italian champion in both the 10,000 metres and the half-marathon chose the Enel Milano Marathon to try to improve on her personal best.
The Ethiopian Gada Bontu Bekele (2h23.39), along with the Kenyan Emily Arusio (2h25.22), could be the big rivals of the day for the Italian, without of course overlooking Ugandan Immaculate Chemutai (2h28.30).
There is a lot of curiosity surrounding Benedetta Coliva, the 22-year-old from Bologna who achieved a promising 2h35.43 on her debut.
STATEMENTS
YEMAN CRIPPA
“I have been waiting a long time to make my marathon debut and the moment has finally arrived. I decided in November… these five months have flown by, and I get pretty excited and rather tense when I think that in two days I will make my debut. I can’t wait to be on the road on Sunday. I chose Milan because I wanted to make my debut in Italy and this is the fastest race available. I hope the route will prove me right. In previous years they have gone very fast. I expect a good marathon, run well. My preparation started at the beginning of January, in Portugal, in February I moved to Kenya for 40 days, I worked a lot, with a group of nearly all marathon runners. Nothing has been left to chance, on a mental level it’s as if I had already run so many marathons, in the race it will be different of course, but I’m not afraid, I’m loaded. Many friends will come to support me, even from Trentino. I hope to see lots of people on the roadsides cheering me on, it will be an extra boost”.
SOFIIA YAREMCHUK
“I am very happy to run the marathon in Milan. I want to go strong and aim for my personal best. I spent almost a month in Kenya, then I finished my preparation in Rome, running the half a month ago, the RomaOstia. I chose Milan because of the speed of its track. I like running in cool weather, 14-16 degrees, you get the best times, and I think Sunday will be the right conditions”.
ENEL MILANO MARATHON 2023
The race is on the international calendar and organised by RCS Sports & Events. It is the fastest marathon on Italian soil. It will feature elite and amateur athletes from all over the world. The route is a circuit, 42.195 km long, with start and finish in Corso Venezia, at the Giardini Montanelli to be exact. A complete route, capable of meeting the high expectations of top runners and advanced amateurs, who in recent years have achieved increasingly remarkable chronometric results, but without losing the opportunity to admire a unique city, with its combination of historical and contemporary elements.
The runners are scheduled to start at 9 a.m.
Sky Sport is our official broadcaster, airing the Enel Milano Marathon on Sunday from 10 a.m. with technical commentary by Nicola Roggero, Stefano Baldini and Lucilla Andreucci.
THE LEVISSIMA SCHOOL MARATHON
However, the great running spectacle in Milan starts tomorrow, with the Levissima School Marathon, now in its seventh edition. It is the children’s race, along a 3-kilometre route, organised in collaboration with OPES (Organizzazione per l’Educazione allo Sport), which is also open to families and accompanying persons, and which will animate the atmosphere of the City Life district. Once again this year, more than 8,000 young people and accompanying persons have registered.
Start on Saturday 1 April from 9 a.m. in Viale Boezio.
THE DOG RUN ARCAPLANET
Also on Saturday, in City Life, the Dog Run Arcaplanet: the event dedicated to dogs and their human friends, or pet parents as they are now called, in collaboration with Quattro Zampe in Fiera. It will be an opportunity to spend some quality time in the company of our pets while engaging in sporting activity along a route of approximately 2 kilometres.
The start is scheduled at 3.00 p.m., at the end of the morning kids’ race, dividing the animals by size starting with the smallest ones; they will run inside the City Life green area. Also joining is Alessandro Ossola, a Paralympic athlete of the Italian National Athletics Team, specialising in the 100 metres.
THE 2023 PARTNERS
Comune di Milano – Regione Lombardia – Sport e Salute.
Media Partner La Gazzetta dello Sport with Gazzetta Active // Radio Partner RDS 100% Grandi Successi // Official broadcaster: SKY Sport.
Enel (Title Sponsor) // Lenovo (Title Sponsor Relay Marathon) // ASICS (Technical Sponsor) // Levissima (Official Mineral Water&Green Partner e Title Sponsor della School Marathon) // Named Sport (Sport Nutrition Partner) // Sn4ifun (Fun Partner) // Toyota (Mobility Partner) // Festina (Official Timekeeper) // GLS (Official Partner) // DANONE HiPRO (Official Partner) // AUTOSTRADE (Official Partner) // BUSFORFUN (Official Partner) // YAMAHA (Official Scooter) // Comune di Cervia (Official Supplier) // Dole (Official Supplier) // // Nuncas (Live Partner) // RCS Academy – Learning Partner // Decathlon – Retail Partner School Marathon // Fruttolo – Official Partner School Marathon // Calypso (Official Timekeeper School Marathon) // Arcaplanet (Title Sponsor Dog Run). NATIVA (Regeneration Partner).
