Africa-Press – Angola. The 31st edition of the Lisbon Half Marathon, already with the registrations sold out, will have prizes of 50,000 euros for new world records in distance, announced yesterday, today, the organization, which “bets” on a new female maximum.
In the ‘sight’ for the event, scheduled for May 8, is, above all, the women’s record for events with separate matches, after last year Jacob Kiplimo set the men’s maximum at 57.31 minutes.
Carlos Móia, president of Marathon Clube de Portugal, admitted that “soon after winning the world record, in men’s, last year” the achievement of the “women’s record became an ambition”.
“We have a €50,000 bonus to bring the women’s world record, in separate matches, to Portugal. This record is set at 1:05.16 hours (Peres Jepchirchir (Kenya). Jacob Kiplimo’s time (57:31) last year. Nothing is impossible”, said Carlos Móia.
The Marathon president explained that the record he wants to see dropped in Lisbon is the race with separate matches and not the maximum of 1:02.52 hours, which belongs to the Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey, established in a race with a joint match between men and women.
The race, postponed from March to May due to the Covid-19 pandemic, has a “luxury” elite, in which the women’s squad stands out, with emphasis on the Kenyan Brigid Kosgei, holder of the best mark ever in the Marathon, and winner of the Tokyo Marathon this year. Kosgei will be joined by Ethiopia’s Tsehay Gemechu, the race record holder (1:06.66), achieved last year.
The women’s event will also feature Ethiopia’s Gotytom Gebreselassie (1:05.36) and Bosena Mulatie (1:05.43) and Israeli Lonah Salpeter (1:06.09).
In the men’s event, to try to bring down the world record of Jacob Kiplimo (57.31), 11 athletes with marks below the hour are presented, especially Kenneth Kiprop Renju (58.35), Abraham Cheroben (58.40), Kevin Kiptum (58.42) and Jorum Okombo (58.48).
The half marathon will be attended by Eric Domingo Roldan, a Spanish amateur marathon runner who runs pushing a wheelchair with his mother, who has multiple sclerosis, and who last year broke the marathon world record (2:53.28) of this category, a mark that appears in the Guinness Book.
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