Baku: An award ceremony to honor the winners of the "Baku Marathon 2026" was held. The marathon was organized at the initiative of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, at the marathon's finish line in Sea Breeze, the winners were honored with medals presented by Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and founder and Head of the IDEA Public Union. The ceremony was also attended by Anar Alakbarov, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Executive Director of the Heydar Aliyev Center, along with Emin Agalarov, President of Agalarov Development.

Following the presentation, a commemorative photo was taken with the participants. Ahmet Alkanoglu from Trkiye secured the top spot in the men's category, becoming the first athlete to cross the finish line, followed by Ukrainian runner Vitaliy Shafar, and Yrskeldi Akerov of Kyrgyzstan, who secured third place.

In the women's competition, Elena Tolstykh from Russia claimed the first place, while Azerbaijan's Anna Yusupova earned a distinguished second-place finish, with Shirin Akimbay from Kazakhstan taking third place.

The 9th edition of the marathon, welcoming runners from different countries, including Azerbaijan, the U.S., China, Germany, UK, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Trkiye, and Ukraine, brought together 25,000 participants racing under the slogan 'Win the Wind.' This event marked a significant milestone by introducing the full 42 km marathon distance for the first time.