MADRID, 14 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The athletes Carlos Gazapo and María Mercedes Pila have been proclaimed this Sunday the new champions of Spain in the marathon, after reigning in the distance championships that have been held in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
In the first edition of the Spanish Championships held outside the peninsula, Gazapo managed to triumph with a time of 2:24:35 ahead of Alberto Puyuelo (2:26:26) and Javier Pérez (2:27:00) .
The Extremaduran arrived at the appointment with the ninth best registration mark (2:26:08), achieved in Valencia in 2019 in his last marathon. Despite everything, he remained in the leading group made up of five athletes -Gazapo, Puyuelo, Pérez, Carles Montllor and Luis Figueroa- who arrived near the halfway point of the test (1:10:45).
In the absence of 10 kilometers, Gazapo and Puyuelo were left alone in the fight for gold, and it was the first who managed to prevail to be proclaimed champion of Spain in the marathon for the first time in his career.
In the women’s race, María Mercedes Pila dominated from start to finish to win the national distance title for the first time. The Ecuadorian based in Extremadura passed the 21 kilometers in 1:26:02, with a two-minute lead over Patricia Cabedo, and was crowned with a time of 2:55:26.
In this way, she achieves her second title of Spanish champion of the year, after also being crowned in the 50-kilometer national last June. Meanwhile, Janine Edith Lima (3:03:54) was second and Patricia Cabedo, third (3:05:28).