Olena Burkovska is Ukrainian

Ukrainians

Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...

 athlete notable for debut winning the 86th Košice Peace Marathon

Košice Peace Marathon

The Košice Peace Marathon is the oldest marathon in Europe and the second-oldest in the world .The first course was held in 1924. The marathon takes place each year on the first October Sunday...

 held on 4 October 2009, in Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

.

She broke the course record setting the time 2:30:50. Burkovska’s performance sliced 38 seconds from the 2:31:28 record set by Czech

Czech people

Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...

 Alena Peterkova in 1989. At the 2010 Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon

Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon

The Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon is an annual marathon road race which takes place in mid-April in Nagano, Japan. It is an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race competition. The Nagano Marathon has races for both elite and amateur runners...

 she finished second behind Lisa Jane Weightman

Lisa Jane Weightman

Lisa Jane Weightman is an Australian long distance runner who specialises in the marathon event. She represented Australia in the marathon at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2009 World Championships in Athletics...

, recording a time of 2:31:53.

External links

Official Košice Peace Marathon Homepage IAAF News release Sunday, 04 October 2009