Koen Naert lived up to his role of favourite at the half marathon of the Athora Great Bruges Marathon. The full marathon was won by Michiel Van Der Bauwhede and American Christy Murphy.

The half marathon of the Athora Great Bruges Marathon fitted perfectly in Koen Naert’s preparation for the New York Marathon, which takes place on 5 November. The man from Oostkampen was clearly the strongest in Bruges with a time of 1h04’27”, good for a new race record. Bruges resident Gianni Vanden Broucke finished second at around three minutes.

Michiel Van Der Bauwhede triumphed in the marathon. The 31-year-old from Kortrijk initially fought a duel with Alexander Diaz Rodriguez from Bruges and Daan De Bock, but in the end it was Louis Naeyaert who became his closest rival after a strong finish. Van Der Bauwhede won in 2h28’36” and crossed the finish 9 seconds ahead of Naeyaert. Diaz Rodriguez finished third in 2h32’06”.

Among the women, American Christy Murphy won the sixth edition of the Athora Great Bruges Marathon in 3h04’10”.

Over 7,000 runners and walkers took part in the Athora Great Bruges Marathon on Sunday. Besides the half and full marathon for runners, the programme also featured an 8km Family Walk.