Africa-Press – Angola. The traditional end-of-year foot race, called São Silvestre, takes place this Saturday (6 pm), the streets of Luanda, in its 66th edition, in which Angolans will try to counter the favoritism of foreigners.
At present, in addition to the inmates, there are runners from Morocco, this for the first time, Kenyans, Mozambicans and Congolese, both male and female.
The secular event is a worldwide initiative of the Catholic Church that pays tribute to the figure of Pope Sylvester, considered responsible for ending the persecution suffered by Christians at the beginning of Christianity, in the Roman Empire.
Sylvester – who died on December 31st – was the 33rd pope of the Catholic Church for over 20 years (314 to 335 AD).
In Angola, this national athletics event has already suffered numerous setbacks. Initially it was disputed from 22:00, later passing the starting gun to 18 and 16, including already changed the denomination and route.
From São Silvestre it became “Demosthenes de Almeida”, from 1985 onwards, in homage to the symbol of Angolan athletics, Demosthenes de Almeida Clington, later returning to its initial form for marketing reasons.
The event had the participation of foreign athletes from 1964 first in the male sector and only years later the female was introduced.
The record for São Silvestre belongs to the former Ethiopian long distance runner Hailé Gebrsalassie, at the time working for Kabuscorp do Palanca, with a time of 28:04.
The Angolan Isidoro Louro was the winner of the first three national editions (1954, 1955 and 1956), however, surpassed by compatriot António Esperança, with four consecutive titles (from 1957 to 1960).
Athlete João Ntyamba, winner in 1999 and 2000, holds, among the nationals, the best time of the end-of-year race, with the mark of 31;33.09 minutes.
The Angolans Alexandre João, with a time of 31 minutes and 26 seconds, and Ernestina Paulino (36 minutes) are the holders of the 2019 titles, a national competition but with the presence of foreigners residing in the country.
Also Angolans David Elias (31.07) and Ernestina Paulino (35.31) were the winners of the last edition, which took place only at the beginning of 2022, out of season. In 2020 it was not held due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Now running over a ten kilometer route, São Silvestre starts at Largo da Mutamba, passes through Amílcar Cabral, República de Outubro and Ho-Chi-Min avenues.
It follows Alameda Manuel Van-Dúnem, Largo do Kinaxixi, Rua da Missão, Avenida 4 de Fevereiro, Largo do Baleizão, Rua Francisco das Necessidades and ends at Estádio dos Coqueiros.
For More News And Analysis About Angola Follow Africa-Press
