Rome, (ST) – Syrian expatriate runner Imad Barakat ranked 4th in Italy’s Half Marathon for above 58 years category, with the participation of 700 runners.
Barakat told SANA that the race was strenuous due to the presence of competitors from many countries and therefore obtaining fourth place is a new achievement in addition to the many previous achievements in which the Syrian flag was raised high in European, Asian and American capitals, he added.
The runner, Barakat was born in Damascus in 1963 and moved in 1999 to live in Slovakia. Despite holding a Slovak citizenship, he insists on representing his homeland, Syria, in international marathons and raising its flag in all competitions.
Baraka’s achievements are many. He won the title for the 250-km Marathon des Sables, held in southern Morocco in 2013.He came 2nd place at the 165km Oman Desert Marathon for 4 times, ranked 4th place at Austria International Marathon for a distance of 75 km and the 7th place for seven years in the Marathon competitions held in Slovakia and others European countries.
Raghda Sawas