Bad weather gave way to the celebration of the 19th edition of the Porto Marathon
The 19th edition of the EDP Porto Marathon took place this Sunday morning and not even the bad weather prevented this great celebration of the city from taking place, with 12,000 participants. The day, which threatened to be stormy, was greeted with a sunny day at the start of the race.
The starting gun was fired at 8am by the athelete Fernanda Ribeiro and Paulo Bernardo, vice-president of the Portuguese Athletics Federation, next to Sea Life, and so began the EDP Porto Marathon and APO Corrida dos Ossos Saudáveis.
This year's EDP 6K race had a different route, starting at 9.30am next to the Queimódromo.
This year's APO Healthy Bones Race had to change its route due to the weather, and followed the Marathon at the start. In the men's section, Miguel Borges from SC Braga was the winner, covering the distance in 00:35:41, followed by Nuno Lopes (Vitoria FC) in second place with 00:35:56, immediately followed by Ricardo Pereira (EV Peraltafil) with 00:35:57.
In the women's section, the great champion was Rafaela Fonseca from R.D. Águeda, who finished the race in 00:40:46, followed by Dulce Félix (SL Benfica) with 00:41:49 and in third place with 00:43:21, Maria Carvalho (ADRAP).
The podium of the APO Healthy Bones Race was attended by Dr. Fernando Almeida from the Portuguese Osteoporosis Association, Rafael Simões, Beatriz Ferreira and Maria José Patrício representing Mimosa, Paulo Bernardo, Vice-President of the Portuguese Athletics Federation and Catarina Araújo, Porto City Councilor.
Emmanuel Kemboi triumphed in the queen race
Kenya's Emmanuel Kemboi was the winner of this year's EDP Porto Marathon with a time of 02:14:13, followed by his compatriot Simion Tarus with 02:14:40 and finishing on the men's podium was Ashenafi Boja (Ethiopia) with 02:15:24.
Tejitu Siyum Alemayehu takes first place on the women's podium
In the women's competition, the first athlete to complete the marathon was Ethiopian Tejitu Siyum Alemayehu, who reached the finish line ahead of the rest of the runners with a time of 02:32:06. Second place was taken by Sinke Dessie with 02:36:17 and Kenyan Mildred Chepkemei rounded off the podium with a time of 02:44:33.
With regard to the participation of Portuguese athletes, José Sousa (CA Macedo de Cavaleiros) was once again, for the second year running, the first Portuguese to reach the finish line. And in the women's section, the fastest Portuguese athlete was Laura Silva, who finished the race in 4th place overall.
The podium ceremony began with Jorge Teixeira, director of Runporto, and Fernanda Ribeiro presenting a memento to Alberto Chaiça, a former athlete who finished 4th in the World Marathon.
Then the three city councils present at the race represented by Councillors Catarina Araújo (Porto City Council), Nuno Matos (Matosinhos City Council) and José Guilherme Aguiar (Gaia City Council) took to the podium to receive a memento of the race together with Mónica del Arco from Joma, the sponsoring sports brand.
Present to present the prizes to the winners were Inácio Ribeiro, vice-president of Turismo Porto e Norte, Mónica del Arco from Joma, Vitor Dias, regional director of the Portuguese Institute for Sport and Youth (IPDJ), Catarina Araújo, Porto City Council councillor, Paulo Bernardo, vice-president of the Portuguese Athletics Federation and, representing Vitalis, Vasco Ribeiro. To round off the podium, food partner Lidl presented the first-placed runners with a basket of organic food.
The Porto Marathon party kept to the main objective and brought thousands of runners together through the streets of the three cities in a unique and special event.
