A team of Slovenian police officers took part in the 2026 USPE European Police Championships Marathon, held from 1 to 4 May as part of the Prague Marathon. The latter attracted around 16,000 runners, including around 190 police officers from 22 countries.
The demanding course through the streets of Prague featured cobbled sections, tram tracks and several elevation changes, ultimately proving too challenging for around 30 police runners who did not finish the race.
Representing the Slovenian police were David Gracer from the Financial Crime and Money Laundering Section at the Criminal Police Directorate; Damjan Krejač from the Ljubljana Mounted Police Station; Andrej Debelak and Vinko Jost from Celje Police Station; Jernej Rajšelj from Ribnica Police Station; Kilian Čop from Ljubljana Moste Police Station; and Anita Klemenčič from the Data Protection and Cyber Security Division at the IT and Telecommunications Office.
The fastest Slovenian runners were David Gracer, who finished in 2:52:13, and Damjan Krejač with a time of 2:52:14. Andrej Debelak completed the marathon in 2:58:34, while first-time participants Jernej Rajšelj and Kilian Čop both finished in under three hours. Anita Klemenčič broke new ground as the first Slovenian policewoman to compete in the championship, crossing the finish line in 3:29:33. Marathon veteran Vinko Jost was unfortunately forced to withdraw due to injury.
Austria’s Mario Bauernfeind and Germany’s Anna Langerwisch claimed the individual titles at the EPC Marathon, while Germany also dominated both the men’s and women’s team events. The Slovenian men’s team finished 13th out of 22 participating countries.
The Slovenian police congratulate all runners on their commitment, perseverance and excellent results!
