Defending champion Sheila Chelangat will return to Istanbul where she celebrated her biggest career victory so far, in 2025.
The 26 year-old Kenyan intends to defend her title at the 20th edition of the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Half Marathon on 27th April. However Chelangat is not the fastest woman in the elite field peppered with very strong African runners. Fellow-Kenyan Judy Kemboi heads the start list with a personal best of 65:43.
Two athletes who enjoyed great success recently will clash in the men’s race: Haftu Teklu of Ethiopia is the fastest in the field with a PB of 59:06 and Kenya’s Alex Matata is the current Ras Al Khaimah champion.
Organisers are expecting a total of around 17,000 athletes to participate in Turkey’s fastest and biggest half. This includes runners who will compete in the 10k race staged parallel. Entries for the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Half Marathon are still accepted at the race organisers’ website.
“Running around the historic part of the city once ruled by three great empires—and along the Golden Horn—is a priceless experience. Every corner of this course holds a story from a different era. Anyone who says ‘I love running’ should come and run this race,“ said Race Director Renay Onur.
“It is always an honour if a defending champion returns. It shows that the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Half Marathon is an attractive event which offers perfect conditions for elite racing”
When Sheila Chelangat came to Istanbul a year ago she was still a newcomer in the half marathon, having run just one race at the distance. She then produced a stunning performance and improved her PB by almost three minutes to 66:47.
After that victory the Kenyan broke her personal record on another two occasions in 2024. She was fifth in Copenhagen with 66:42 and then sixth in Valencia in 66:06.
While the former track runner has discovered the half marathon as her strongest event, so has Judy Kemboi. The 25 year-old Kenyan ran her debut a year ago in Belgium’s Gent-Brügge event and then competed in six more races at this distance within twelve months.
Kemboi won five of them but clocked her personal best of 65:43 when she was second in Copenhagen. She started strong this year, when she was runner-up in the prestigious Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in the United Arab Emirates with 66:34 and then won the Guadalajara race in high altitude in Mexico.
In theory this could become a fascinating duel. But there are a number of other women who travel to the Bosphorus thinking it could be their big day at the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Half Marathon.
One of them is Winfridah Moseti. In contrast to her two fellow-Kenyans she is a successful marathon runner as well. The 29 year-old recently smashed her personal best at the classic distance when she was runner-up in Tokyo with 2:16:56.
This performance suggests that Moseti might well be capable of improving her half marathon PB as well. A year ago she was second in Malaga with 65:59.
Amghar withdrawal leaves Teklu and Matata as favourites
It looked certain that the men’s race would feature the defending champion as well. But Morocco’s Hicham Amghar withdrew because he wants to fully focus on a marathon.
Ethiopia’s Haftu Teklu and Kenya’s Alex Matata are the likely favourites. They are the number one and two on the current start list and both of them have shown very promising form this year already.
25 year-old Teklu will have the advantage of knowing the course of the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Half Marathon. Two years ago he was third here in 60:03, crossing the line just eleven seconds behind winner Daniel Ebenyo of Kenya.
It was another year back when Teklu ran his personal best of 59:06, successfully defending his Barcelona Half Marathon title. Just ten days ago the Ethiopian celebrated what was probably his biggest career win, when he won the Seoul Marathon with 2:05:42.
Matata will travel to Turkey full of confidence as well. The 27 year-old achieved his biggest career win at the beginning of February. The Kenyan took the prestigious Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon. Despite a head wind for parts of the race he still managed to run a PB of 59:20 in what was his third half marathon victory in a row.
Out of a total of seven races at this distance Matata won six. It will take some performance to beat this rising Kenyan half marathon star who only started his international career a year ago.
Great Britain’s Callum Hawkins will lead the European challenge in Istanbul. The 32 year-old, who was fourth in the World Championships’ marathons in both 2017 and 2019 but then struggled with injuries, has a personal best of exactly 60:00 from 2017.
