Kenyan runners swept the top three places in the Sofia Marathon on Sunday, with Kennedy Kipkemoi Rono winning in 2:15:21, followed by Peter Murithi Wahome in 2:16:43 and Hillary Kipchumba in 2:18:01.
At the finish line, Rono received the winner’s wreath from Lubomir Ganev, Vice President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee and President of the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation.
Rono is no stranger to racing in Bulgaria. He won the Sofia Half Marathon in 2025 and the Stara Zagora Marathon in March 2026.
In the women’s marathon, Kenya’s Winnie Jebet won in 2:27:50, completing a Kenyan sweep of the podium. Stella Chepkorir finished second in 2:35:00, followed by Chelangat Sang in 2:35:18.
The best-performing Bulgarian was Kolyo Raychinov, the national half-marathon champion, who finished ninth in 2:29:32. Two more Bulgarians followed: veteran Shaban Mustafa came 10th in 2:32:33, while Simeon Dilovski finished 11th in 2:33:31.
Kenyan runners also swept the podium in the men’s half-marathon, with Albert Kipkorir Tonui winning in 1:05:02, followed by 21-year-old John Chege Waweru in 1:05:38 and Boniface Mburu Mungai in 1:07:19.
The best-placed Bulgarian was Nikolay Kaufman of Etar Veliko Tarnovo, who clocked 1:07:44. Four more Bulgarians finished in the top 10: Petar Borisov came sixth, Nikolay Stoychev eighth, Metodi Georgiev ninth and Yoan Magerov 10th. BTA Sports Department editor Georgi Krumov also took part in the race.
Kenyan runners also dominated the women’s half-marathon. Caren Chepkemoi Chepkvony won in 1:16:34, followed by Dolphin Kemunto Nyagaka in 1:17:07 and Esther Kakuri in 1:19:29. Bulgarian Simona Nedelcheva finished fourth in 1:25:25.
Kenyan Runners Dominate Sofia Marathon, Sweep Podiums in Marathon and Half-Marathon THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-10-11 09:51:00
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BULGARIA NEWS – NEWS AGENCY 2009–2026 2026-10-11 09:51:00