STA, 24 October - The 25th Ljubljana Marathon on Sunday was dominated by Kenyan runners, with Ernest Kibet Tarus winning the men's race with a time of 2 hours 22 minutes and 39 seconds, and Kwamboka Momanyi Grace winning the women's competition (2:38:10). 

Ernest Kibet Tarus was far behind the official record of the Ljubljana Marathon, but nevertheless finished four minutes and a half ahead of the second-placed Marko Ranković of Serbia (2:27:09).

Slovenia's Janez Mulej (2:28:07) was third with his personal best time to win the title of the Slovenian champion.

Kwamboka Momanyi Grace meanwhile dominated the women's race, finishing more than seven minutes ahead of Slovenia's Anja Fink (2:45:29), who won the title of the Slovenian women's champion. Barbara Molnar of Hungary (2:55:18) was third.

The Ljubljana Marathon was held today after last year's race was cancelled due to the pandemic last year. This year's edition was slightly altered as well - all the races (10km, 21km and 42km) taking place on the same day.

In the half-marathon race, Slovenia's Primož Kobe won in the men's competition with a time of 1:07:02, and his compatriot Neja Kršinar had her personal best of 1:14:23 to win the women's competition.

In the 21-km wheelchair race was won by Andrej Rotar in the men's competition (42:43) and Tanja Cerkvenik in the women's competition (1:23:53).

STA, 24 October - The 25th Ljubljana Marathon will take place in the Slovenian capital on Sunday, after it was cancelled due to the pandemic last year. This year's edition was slightly altered as well - all the races will be taking place on the same day, with runners testing their abilities on courses of 10km, 21km and 42km.

This year's marathon has been slightly downsized, so there were no traditional races for schoolchildren on the streets of Ljubljana in the days leading up to the main marathon.

In addition, no elite runners from abroad have signed up, while the best Slovenian marathon runners have not entered the 42km race either, opting for shorter distances instead.

The event will be opened at 9am by hand-cyclists riding a half-marathon, followed by the races on courses of 10km, 21km and 42km. The weather is expected to be sunny, with a cold morning and with temperatures rising up to 12 degrees Celsius during the day.

Leading up to the Ljubljana Marathon, the "Pink Marathon" took place throughout the month of October. With participating through the Strava app, runners were able to make a donation to the independent non-profit breast cancer awareness organisation Europa Donna.

An open fair was also held in Republic Square from Friday to Sunday with different activities for runners, athletes, fans, families and curious passers-by, said the organisers.

They said that last year's cancellation of the marathon due to the epidemic caused them significant financial damage, which they are hoping to avoid with this year's edition.

STA, 28 September 2021 - In addition to the traditional Franja cycling marathon, Slovenian amateur cyclists will have a shot at a Tour de France-like experience next year as the L'Etape du Tour event is staged in Slovenia's Kranj next September. The pinnacle of the festivities in and around the city will be a 70-kilometre and a 120-kilometre race.

L'Etape du Tour allows amateur cyclists to race over the same route as a Tour de France stage, while international events are also held annually in various countries around the world.

The first L'Etape Slovenia by Tour de France will be held in Kranj on 3 and 4 September 2022. In addition to the main two races, it will feature events for the youngest participants, school children, families and the elderly.

Aleš Hostnik of the organisers has told the STA that the longer route, which has 2,000m of cumulative elevation gain, will run through the places of birth of Slovenian cycling stars Tadej Pogačar (Komenda) and Matej Mohorič (Podblica).

"The amateur Tour de France events involve 24 cities in 21 countries and Slovenia is now a part of this story," he said, while Kranj Mayor Matjaž Rakovec added that "we are very happy that Kranj will host this event."

"This is an excellent opportunity for us and the neighbouring municipalities to present ourselves to the world," Rakovec said, pointing to the long cycling tradition in Kranj, where many Slovenian stars have trained.

Mohorič, who is an ambassador of the event, said that Kranj was a city of sport and a cycling destination. "The roads around here are the most beautiful ones that I've ever seen. This event is a great opportunity for the city."

Local cycling veteran Franc Hvasti promises that the event will be well organised. "We've had a long tradition of cycling events here ... including all three stages of the Giro d'Italia that were hosted in Slovenia," he said.

On behalf of the French organisers, Kevin Quinion said that this was a nice opportunity for amateur cyclists to feel the vibe of the Tour de France. "This is what we do around the world and I'm happy that we can share this experience with people."

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STA, 25 September 2021 - Slovenian kayaker Nejc Žnidaršič won the sprint event at the ICF's wildwater canoeing world championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Sunday to claim his fifth world champion title.

Žnidaršič finished 0.56 seconds ahead of France's Luca Barone, while another French, Maxence Barouh, won bronze. Slovenia's Anže Urankar placed fourth.

He made history by becoming the first whitewater competitor to win five world champion titles, which he said he was proud of.

"World championships have been on since 1952, but never has anyone become world champion for five times," the 37-year-old said.

He does not regret his sport not being an Olympic sport. "I want to do things that are fun. And if you are best at it, then I really see no problem."

This year's victory was more convincing that the previous, from two years ago, when he won by a mere hundredth.

He described the run as superb: "This was an optimal run, at least on this course," he said, attributing it partly to his vast experience.

STA, 19 September 2021 - Slovenia have the second consecutive silver at the European Volleyball Championship after losing to Italy 2:3 in Sunday's final.

With silver medals from the 2015 and 2019 tournaments Slovenia were hoping to take it one step further this time, but Italy proved too strong in a game of equals.

The Slovenian team mounted a strong start and won the opening set 25:22, but Italy kept up the pace to win the second set.

Third set went to Slovenia with 25:20, only for Italy to recover and win the last two sets thanks to a strong serving performance.

The two teams faced off in the group stage and Italy won that game 3:1. In fact, the Italians did not lose a single game the whole tournament.

STA, 18 September 2021 - Slovenia defeated Poland 3:1 on Saturday to enter the final of the European Volleyball Championship for the third time in the last four championships.

A nail-biting fourth set that lasted for almost an hour capped a three-hour game.

Poland won the first set, but in the marathon second set Slovenia staged a turnaround and carried the momentum through to the end of the game.

Slovenia will take on Italy in Sunday's Final.