The finish offered the expected excitement, with the winner decided by a hundredth of a second. Christopher Kalev crossed the line first (time: 02:49:57.4), just one tenth of a second ahead of Henri Roos (EST) (time: 02:49:57.5), while Czech skier Fabian Stocek secured third place (time: 02:49:57.6).

 

The leading trio broke away from the rest of the field already early in the race and gradually increased their advantage throughout the course. “Absolutely amazing! The course was very well prepared considering the snow conditions in South Estonia. Roos and I have battled it out on the finishing straight in several recent races, and so far he has had the upper hand, but today I still had some freshness left in my legs,” commented the newly crowned winner, Christopher Kalev.

 

According to Roos, the track on the finishing straight was slightly rough, and he was unable to close the final 30 centimeters on Kalev in the last meters. “It definitely leaves a bit of a sting when you lose by such a narrow margin.”

 

According to women’s winner Tatjana Mannima, the most difficult part was skiing alone, though she had no complaints about the cold. The women’s race did not offer the same finishing straight drama as the men’s event. Mannima crossed the line first (time: 03:26:02.4), followed by Merilin Jürisaar (EST) (time: 03:34:52.0), with Kaisa Rooba (EST) finishing third (time: 03:36:01.9).

 

A total of 3,661 participants were registered for today’s classic races: 2,735 for the longer 63 km distance and 926 for the shorter 31 km course. The full results are available here.

 

The 52nd Tartu Maraton also marked the fourth stage of the Estoloppet series this season. Estonia’s ski marathon series continues on 20–21 February with the 28th Tallinn Ski Marathon.

 

The Tartu Maraton Classic season will continue on 9 May with the Tartu Forest Marathon, held among the forests of Elva.

 

Photo: Timo Müürsepp