20,000 enthusiastic runners, many supporters and a great atmosphere in the city: the fifth – and once again record-breaking – edition of the TREK Antwerp Marathon was a party from start to finish.
At 9 a.m., 5,500 marathon runners set off in ideal conditions: dry and not too hot. Two loops through the city awaited them, passing the Port Authority building, the Meir, Central Station, Zurenborg, Groen Kwartier, the Palace of Justice and the Kaaien, finishing at the MAS. For the vast majority of them, this was the culmination of a lot of preparation. For some, it was also about the overall victory and the unofficial title of “marathon king (or queen) of the city”.
At the front of the men’s race, a group of four quickly formed, which was reduced to three halfway through: Nicolaï Saké, Nicholas Schyns and Siebe Van Dijck. The trio entered the final kilometre together, until Saké, with the finish line in sight, put in a final sprint and left the other two several dozen metres behind him. Saké finished with a strong time of 2:21:16, securing his first marathon victory. Schyns beat Van Dijck in the sprint for second place, 7 seconds behind the winner.
In the women’s race, last year’s number 2, Loes Rönne, won. She ran 2:47:19, a full 10 minutes faster than in 2024. In the last 10 kilometres, she clearly distanced herself from Véronique Fettweis, who finished second in 2:51:06. Katrien Verstuyft narrowly took third place in 2:54:51. Rönne’s medal will shine even brighter, as she raised €14,000 for the Children’s Cancer Fund and her nephew, who has brain cancer. Tine Embrechts achieved her personal goal by finishing in just under four hours, running for the Red Cross charity.
The 10K started just after the marathon and was fully booked with a maximum of 1,800 participants. In the men’s race, it came down to a sprint between four runners, with Gertjan Fannes being the fastest (32:49). In the women’s race, victory went to Alice Wright from England (36:59). The 10K participants included Antwerp Councillor for Sport Stijn De Rooster and Jan Boone, CEO of Lotus Bakeries, which is the title partner of this TREK Antwerp Marathon together with TREK.
The half marathon, which started at 2 p.m., was a piece of cake for Eritrean Daniel Gebru Gebreslasie. The race was dominated for a long time by a leading group of five, but with just over two kilometres to go, the eventual winner pulled away. He finished in 1:07:59. Shortly before the finish line, Simon D’hoore shook off another Belgian, Siemen Van Camp, to complete the podium. In the women’s race, Jolien Denis had to settle for second place (1:15:52), just like last year, with the victory going to Germany’s Daniela Wurm in 1:15:23. Emma Boone came third.
No fewer than five foreigners finished in the top 10 of the men’s half marathon. Another striking feature this year was that the TREK Antwerp Marathon attracted a total of 3,500 foreigners to Antwerp, more than 2,000 of them from the Netherlands. There were also many well-known sports personalities from Belgium, including Lotto cyclist Brent Van Moer, golfer Thomas Pieters, Bazart frontman Mathieu Terryn and television personality Francesca Vanthielen, to name but a few.
Once again, there were large crowds in the city, along the route, but also on the terraces. Many cheered in one of the four cheering zones: at the Port Authority building, on Dageraadplaats, Markgravelei and Kloosterstraat, or near one of the 52 entertainment points. At the finish line, the stands under the MAS were packed, and all 20,000 participants were welcomed with loud applause and cheers.
