Baku hosted Azerbaijan's first-ever international ultramarathon featuring 6-, 12-, and 24-hour races on June 20–21. The event brought together 161 athletes from 10 countries, who covered a combined distance of 8,213 kilometers.
Axar.az reports that Azerbaijani ultrarunner Elmir Asgarov emerged as the overall winner after covering 212 kilometers in 24 hours, setting a new national record for the 24-hour race.
Asgarov is set to represent Azerbaijan at the 100 km World Championship on September 20, where he plans to improve the national record.
In the women's 24-hour race, Leyla Abdinova claimed victory after covering 164.42 kilometers, becoming the first Azerbaijani woman to achieve such a result in a 24-hour race and setting a new national record.
Lithuania's Sorokin Team won the team competition, with the standings determined by the combined distance covered by athletes in the 6-, 12-, and 24-hour events.
Lithuanian athletes also claimed the overall titles in the remaining two categories. Zydrunas Stelmokas won the 12-hour race with a distance of around 115 kilometers, while Andrej Jegorov finished first in the 6-hour event.
In the women's events, Narmin Guliyeva won the 12-hour race, while Natalya Vallek recorded the best result in the women's 6-hour competition.
The ultramarathon also stood out for its wide age range of participants. The youngest competitor was 16-year-old Sadiq Gambarli, while the oldest was 69-year-old Vugar Tagiyev.
According to the organizers, the successful staging of Baku's first international ultramarathon marks an important milestone in the development of ultramarathon running in Azerbaijan.