📩 11/10/2023 12:02
Konya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay held a press conference about the 2nd International Konya Half Marathon, which will be held in partnership with the Metropolitan Municipality and the Selçuklu Autistic Individuals Foundation. Stating that they aim to have 21 thousand sports fans participate in the International Konya Half Marathon this year, which will be held in three different categories: 10 kilometer Half Marathon, 15 Kilometer Run and Public Run, Mayor Altay said, “Applications have reached twice the rate of last year. Our marathon will be organized in accordance with the competition rules of the Turkish Athletics Federation and the World Athletics Association. We will transfer all registration fees for the half marathon and 10 kilometer run to the SOBE Foundation, which continues its work as Turkey's most comprehensive and largest center in the field of autism. Therefore, everyone who registers will also be a SOBE volunteer. "I invite all my fellow citizens and everyone our voice reaches to be a link in this chain of goodness and I look forward to our marathon on Sunday, October 15," he said. Athletics Federation President Fatih Çintimar said, “Konya is the capital of sports. It is very important to organize half marathons and marathons in Konya. Because there is always a marathon or half marathon in the big cities of the world. Konya was one of them. "I believe that this will reach three, four or five and go all the way," he said.
A press conference was held regarding the 2nd International Konya Half Marathon, which will be organized in partnership with Konya Metropolitan Municipality and Selçuklu Autistic Individuals Foundation (SOBE).
Speaking at the meeting held at SOBE Yazır Campus, SOBE Foundation Chairman Mustafa Ak stated that they were proud to be a stakeholder of the organization and thanked Konya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay. AK said, “It is a very important organization to increase the recognition and awareness of autism. The more our families and our nation focus their attention on autism, the sooner their children will be diagnosed with autism and their education will start earlier. "I know that this organization will make a great contribution to both the promotion of our city and the promotion of SOBE," he said.
“THE SECOND WILL BE HELD WITH WIDER PARTICIPATION”
Konya Youth and Sports Provincial Director Abdurrahman Şahin said, “2. Konya International Half Marathon will hopefully be held with wider participation this year. We have full confidence that the marathon will be held in an exciting, enthusiastic and successful manner. "On this occasion, I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of the sports community to our Konya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor, Mr. Uğur İbrahim Altay, and to all Metropolitan Municipality officials and employees, who organize important youth activities and sports organizations in Konya."
“SOBE HAS BECOME A PIONEERING ORGANIZATION”
Meram Mayor Mustafa Kavuş said, “I would like to thank our Metropolitan Municipality Mayor, who has always been a pioneer for both us and the society in many issues, with the title of SOBE and the title of marathon. Our Metropolitan Mayor, who is the founder of SOBE, has made a great contribution to bringing it to this day. Afterwards, I would like to thank the current support of our president Ahmet Pekyatırcı and our foundation president Mustafa Ak. "SOBE has become an organization that has made a name for itself both in Konya and in the country, that has taken the lead in autism and is now a pioneer in this field in Turkey," he said.
“I FIND IT VERY MEANINGFUL THAT THE ORGANIZATION'S REVENUES ARE ALLOCATED TO SOBE”
Karatay Mayor Hasan Kılca noted that the place they are in is taken as an example not only from Turkey but also from many parts of the world, and said, “I congratulate and thank our Metropolitan Municipality Mayor, who contributed to the formation of this place in this form. I would like to thank our foundation and Selçuklu Mayor who contributed to the operation of this place. It is very important to support such places. I see such areas as doors of prayer in Konya. "I find it very meaningful that the revenues of this organization are allocated here," he said.
“MY CENTER IS NOW A BRAND OF TURKEY”
Selçuklu Mayor Ahmet Pekyatırcı said, “Our center is now a brand of Turkey. In fact, it has become a brand that carries out training and rehabilitation activities that can be an example to the world. The largest social responsibility project in Turkey. I would like to thank our mayor, Uğur İbrahim Altay, who realized this project, was the founder of this project, and never left us alone after becoming the Metropolitan Mayor. "With this project, many projects in Turkey have been paved the way," he said.
“KONYA IS ONE OF OUR RARE CITIES IN TURKEY WITH TEAMS COMPETING IN SUPER LEAGUES”
Athletics Federation President Fatih Çintimar also noted: “Konya is the capital of sports. We selected two of our athletes for this launch meeting, as befits the capital. One of them is İlyas Çanakçı, a son of our Konya, who grew up here, works here, and continues his studies here, as he will say in a moment. He is the captain of our team, which became our first European 4×400 Teams Champion. We brought Ramil Guliyev here again. Ramil Guliyev is our athlete born in Azerbaijan. He grew up in Turkey, grew up in Turkey, got married here and still lives here. But if you ask what is the characteristic of Ramil Guliyev, there is one from Ramil Guliyev. He is the only athlete in the history of the world who is not dark-skinned and won the 200 meters. He is also one of the two white people in the world who can run 100 meters in under 10 seconds. They are truly very special people, very special athletes. I thank them for their contributions to our country. Organizing half marathons and marathons in Konya has become very important from now on. Because there is always a marathon or half marathon in the big cities of the world. Konya was one of them. I believe that this will reach three, four or five and go all the way to the end. "Konya is one of the rare cities in Turkey that has teams competing in Super Leagues in both athletics and eight branches, including football," he said.
PRAISE OF KONYA FROM NATIONAL ATHLETES
National Athlete from Konya İlyas Çanakçı said, “I am proud to be here as your fellow countryman. Dear Mr. President, I would like to thank my district presidents and provincial president for organizing this organization. I hope it will be a good race. "I wish success to all athletes who will compete," he said.
Another national athlete, Ramil Guliyev, stated that he loved Konya very much and said, “Honestly, when I first came to Konya, I did not expect such a spacious city, but I really liked it. We competed in the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games held in Konya last year and won 5 medals as a family. The race was very enjoyable and the organization was also very good. In recent years, very big events and races have been held in Konya. This is very important for young people. Because it contributes to their love of sports. I think it is a great and right investment for our future, for children and young people. "I am very happy that we are working in this direction," he said.
“OUR KONYA HOSTS ALL KINDS OF INFRASTRUCTURE NECESSARY FOR INTERNATIONAL SPORTS COMPETITIONS”
Konya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay also stated that Konya, which has the title of 2023 World Sports Capital, has a very strong sports infrastructure in every sense. Emphasizing that there are dozens of different facilities in Konya that appeal to almost every sports branch, Mayor Altay continued as follows: “Our young people and all our citizens carry out their sports activities in great comfort in these facilities. On the other hand, we have covered all four sides of our city with a huge bicycle path network of 604 kilometers in total. Our Konya, which has all the necessary infrastructure for the holding of international sports competitions, has proven this potential with the many international competitions it has hosted. The 5th Islamic Solidarity Games and the International Konya Half Marathon, which we organized for the first time last year, were the pinnacle of the organizations Konya has hosted to date. On the occasion of these competitions, which are also a cultural unity that brings together different nations; A message of peace and tolerance was given to the whole world from Konya. All this showed us that; “We can organize all kinds of Olympics and sports competitions in Konya in the best and most perfect way.”
“WE BROUGHT KONYA EARNING TWO DIFFERENT SPORTS CAPITAL TITLES”
Underlining that they have brought two different Sports Capital titles to Konya, thanks to their important work in the field of sports and modern sports facilities, Mayor Altay said, “The first of these is; The title of '2023 World Sports Capital'. We became the first city in Turkey and the second city in Europe after Madrid to be awarded the title of 'World Sports Capital', one of the most prestigious sports titles on a global scale. The election of Konya as the World Sports Capital in 100, the 2023th anniversary of our Republic, was very meaningful for all of us. The second sports capital we have brought to our city is the title of '2022 Islamic Countries Sports Capital Konya'. Our Konya, which was declared the Sports Capital of Islamic Countries by the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation just before the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games; "Thanks to this title, he had the opportunity to crown his achievements in sports," he said.
“APPLICATIONS HAVE REACHED DOUBLE THAN LAST YEAR”
Stating that they will reorganize the International Konya Half Marathon, which was held for the first time with intense participation last year, on October 15, Mayor Altay continued his speech as follows: “The International Konya Half Marathon will be held in three different categories: 21 kilometer Half Marathon, 10 kilometer Run and Public Race. We aim to have 15 thousand sports fans attend this year. Applications have doubled from last year. Our marathon will be organized in accordance with the competition rules of the Turkish Athletics Federation and the World Athletics Association. Marathon registrations, which we started on August 10, will continue for two more days and end on October 12. We have determined the participation age as 16 and over so that our young children will not be negatively affected by the intense pace of the marathon. I would also like to talk about the details of our running program. First on October 15; Our athletes will enter the field in front of Mevlana Cultural Center at 7.30 in the morning. We will start the 8.30 Kilometer Road Race at 10. Then, the 8.45 kilometer Half Marathon run will start at 21. At 11.30, we will present the awards to our winning contestants in front of Mevlana Cultural Center. The time we planned for the People's Race was 13.30, but since it was going to be a national match, we moved the time to 11.30. We updated the time. I want to announce this here. The People's Race will start at 11.30 in Kılıçarslan Square. “All of our races will end where they started.”
COMPETITION KIT AND AWARDS
Mayor Altay said, “We will also give our registered competitors a kit containing various items they can use during the run. Competition kits; It will be distributed to our contestants at Kılıçaraslan Square on 12, 13 and 14 October, between 10.00 in the morning and 20.00 in the evening. The prizes to be given after the competition are; It will be in the form of specially designed medals, cups and cash awards for the athletes who rank in the men's and women's general categories and age groups. I would like to underline another important point about the marathon. All registration fees for half marathon and 10 kilometer run; We will transfer it to the SOBE Foundation, which continues its work as Turkey's most comprehensive and largest center in the field of autism. Therefore, everyone who registers will also be a SOBE volunteer. Next year, hopefully, we will hold the competition together with Meram DOSD, Karatay Alzheimer Center and SOBE. I invite all my fellow citizens and everyone our voice reaches to be a link in this chain of goodness and I look forward to our marathon on Sunday, October 15th. "I hope that the International Konya Half Marathon, which is a very important organization for our 2023 World Sports Capital Konya, will be beneficial in advance," he said.
HE CALLED ALL SPORTS FANS TO SUPPORT THE NATIONAL TEAM
Evaluating the fact that the National Football Team will face Latvia at the Konya Metropolitan Stadium on the evening of Sunday, October 15, President Altay said, "As in the matches against France, Netherlands and Iceland played in our city before and in many other matches, Konya will present our National Team in the best possible way in the Latvia match." We will host you in this way. I wholeheartedly believe that our athletes will achieve a successful result from this challenging match with their determination and talent. I wish success to our national team, which is the pride of Turkey, against Latvia. "I invite all sports fans to our city for the national match," he said.
“AS KONYA, WE ARE READY FOR EURO 2032”
Stating that UEFA announced that the 2032 European Football Championship (EURO 2032) will be hosted by Turkey and Italy, President Altay said, “As Konya, we are ready for this great organization with our Metropolitan Stadium, one of the most modern stadiums in the world, our hotels and transportation facilities. UEFA said, "I hope that the 2032 European Football Championship will be beneficial for our country."
Together with Athletics Federation President Fatih Çintimar and athletics athletes, we will attend the Konya Half Marathon to be held on Sunday, October 15th; Stating that Archery Olympic and World Champion Mete Gazoz, World Archery Championship runners-up Ulaş Berkim Tümer and Muhammed Abdullah Yıldırmış, and the Down Syndrome Futsal National Team, which made its preparations in Konya and became the European Champion, will also participate, President Altay thanked AK Party Konya Deputy Mehmet for his contributions. He thanked Baykan.