Radenci - Janez Mulej defended his Slovenian marathon champion title, which he won at Ljubljana Marathon last October, at the 40th Three Hearts Marathon in Radenci on Saturday. Having clocked at 2:35:20, he beat his rival, Simon Navodnik (2:36:54). Andreja Gorčan was the best among women runners with a time of 3:35:01.

Elizabeth Swedberg from the US (3:39:31) finished second among female marathoners.

The oldest marathon event in the north-eastern region that was organised after a two-year hiatus due to Covid attracted 2,200 runners, 82 Nordic walkers, 1,300 hikers, 40 runners with dogs and around 1,200 children running the shortest distance.

This year's Three Hearts Marathon lacked the best international runners, including those from Kenya that usually dominated the event in the past.

Domen Dornik (1:13:22) won the men's 21 km race ahead of Robert Kotnik (1:15:42), and Špela Gonza (1:21:18) was victorious in the women's half marathon, followed by Jasmina Pitamic Vojska (1:25:08).

Jože Lapoši (34:36) and Eva Dimc (42:38) placed first in the 10 km, and Jan Kramer (18:15) and Breda Škedelj (20:35) in the 5.5 km event.

The 10 km race also featured ski runner Miha Šimec and Anamarija Lampič, the famous ski runner who recently decided to switch to biathlon. The latter, wanting to just enjoy herself after a stressful period full of commitments and avoiding a potential injury, came in 32nd place (55:13).