BY LESLEY FOINAGWA
MORE than 500 runners in the Solomon Islands have taken to the roads in the country’s capital Honiara and its outskirts at this year’s inaugural ‘Solomon Airlines Peace Marathon 2022’ over the weekend.
Participants completed the 2km, 5km, 10km, and 21.1km (half marathon) on Saturday.
The event is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Culture & Tourism, Tourism Solomons, Travel Solomons, and Solomon Airlines.
“While primarily positioned as a social event to bring the people of Honiara and the Provinces together in a fun activity in this uncertain COVID-19 pandemic-dominated times, the event is also intended to remind people of the ongoing Solomon Airlines-driven ‘Iumi Tugeda Holiday Program’. Launched earlier this year, the initiative has played an active role in encouraging Solomon Islanders to holiday in their backyard in support of struggling tourism operators affected by ongoing international border closures,” according to Solomon Airlines’ press release.
Here are the winners’ results and prizes for the half marathon:
Men’s race:
- 1st Martin Paeni – 1 hrs 50 min 47 secs – a gold medal, $3000, and a domestic air flying ticket sponsored by Solomon Airlines.
- 2nd Patrick Kam – 1:19:42 – a silver medal, $1000, and Samsung Galaxy Mobile Phone sponsored by Our Telekom
- 3rd Leon Pusua – 1:19:43 – a bronze medal, $800, and six canned tuna sponsored by SolTuna
Women’s race:
- 1st Diana Matakali – 1 hrs 20 min and 42 secs – a gold medal, $3000, and a domestic air flying ticket sponsored by Solomon Airlines
- 2nd Sharon Firisua – 1.30:05 – a silver medal, $1000, and Samsung Galaxy Mobile Phone sponsored by Our Telekom)
- 3rd Erin Haku – 2.18:02 – a bronze medal, $800, and six canned tuna sponsored by SolTuna
You can check out some of the photos from the race below.
