The Olympus Marathon, the unique international mountain running race, took place on June 24, 2023. It was a challenging race covering a distance of 43km in the Mountain of the Gods, with a positive altitude gain of 3350m. The route followed by the runners represents the sacred journey of antiquity, when the pilgrims from the city of Dion would ascend to the peaks of Mount Olympus every summer to honor Zeus.

Men’s Category:

1. Dimitris Seletis (Kasimis Training) – 04:59:57
2. Vasilis Balamotis (Salomon Hellas) – 05:11:17
3. Dimitris Eleftheriou (Dynafit) – 05:21:33

Women’s Category:

1. Maria Papapostolou (Metsovo Ursa Team) – 06:27:33
2. Maria Xanthi – 06:31:36
3. Niki Zioga (L-crew) – 06:41:01.

OLYMPUS ULTRA 2023

For the 4th time, the Olympus Ultra ultramarathon took place, covering a distance of 71km with a positive elevation gain of 5550m. The race, characterized by its great difficulty and incredible beauty, as it passes through the northern side of Mount Olympus and its second highest peak, Skolio, at 2911m. A total of 82 athletes participated in the start of the race.

The winners of the Olympus Ultra are as follows:

Men’s Category:

1. Stelios Petroustos (Maurten GR) – 10:56:05
2. Panagiotis Panagiotopoulos (Kasimis Training) – 11:02:37
3. Akakios Tzavachatzes – 11:12:26

Women’s Category:

1. Jo Manta (HOKA) – 14:30:11
2. Maria Lamboudi – 17:50:22
3. Dragana Cejovic – 18:17:24

In the women’s category, Fotini Meintani emerged as the winner with a time of 00:55:52. Fotini Ntadka from Spirulina Nigritas team secured the second position with a time of 1:05:17, and Letitia Barbuc from Romania finished third with a time of 1:11:17.

In the “Edge of the Eagles,” a race covering a distance of 12.5km with a positive elevation gain of +450m, which has gained popularity recently, 336 athletes participated. The first-place winner was Alexandros Kampouropoulos with a time of 01:09:04, followed by Eleftherios Andronikidis from Andronikidis Team with a time of 01:09:17 in second place, and Georgios Natsiopoulos finished third with a time of 01:11:20. In the women’s category, the first position was secured by Fotini Meintani with a time of 01:16:49, followed by Dimitra Bika with a time of 01:17:43, and Ioanna Makri from Microjim with a time of 01:33:34.

In the shortest race of the event, Melindra Trail, covering a distance of 5km with a positive elevation gain of +180m, Christos Agrodimos finished first with a time of 00:27:22. Romanos Paris-Nikas from Olympus Marathon RT secured second place with a time of 00:29:59, and Nikolaos Kakoulidis from Kourkourikis Training Group finished third with a time of 00:30:07. In the women’s category, Anastasia Papa from Vmaxtraining emerged as the winner with a time of 00:31:05. Stromatia Antzi finished second with a time of 00:35:23, followed by Angeliki-Alkisti Zografi in third place with a time of 00:36:14.

In the children’s races, the participation exceeded 300, including children from schools in the wider area and children of Olympus Marathon athletes. This fact adds a unique color to the event’s program and sends an optimistic message about the future of mountain running in our country. Additionally, the Special Race for People with Disabilities took place, which deeply touched those who witnessed it. The warm applause from the crowd thrilled the participants and encouraged them to continue their efforts.

Overall, athletes from 28 countries participated in the races.