Havana, March 27 (EFE). Cuban Francisco Estevez, followed by Spaniard Bruno Villazon, entered first in the finish line of the third edition of the half-marathon held on Sunday in the tourist resort of Varadero, the country’s most important pole of the sun and beaches of the island.
Estévez completed the 21-kilometer circuit with a time clock of 1:10:19 and Villazon scored 1:10:43 from start and back to the set point in a central park in the town of Spa, located 145 kilometers northeast of La. Havana.
The Cuban, who won the last 2022 Copa Cup in the major, said that “the most important thing was to win and I got it” although he was unhappy with the record set in that race, the island’s sports media reported.
He also said that in his preparations he always accompanies his dog Star, who covers the entire course of his training life with him.
Spaniard Villazon won the race behind Estevez, but admitted that the humid Cuban climate affected his goal, although he expressed his intention to return to Cuba in 2024 as he looked to win the prize that has eluded him now for a few seconds.
The event resumed in 2022 after a forced two-year interruption imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and also restored races at 3 and 10 kilometres.
The president of the Cuban Athletics Federation, former runner Alberto Juantorina, said that the Varadero Half Marathon intends to position itself in the international preference for the inclusion of foreign competitors in its next edition.
Juantorina, the two-time Olympic champion from Montreal 76ers, this Saturday launched the call for the fourth edition of the competition, tentatively scheduled for April 2024 with the inclusion of the marathon for the first time.
This time, the competition, which scored 324 runners in a 21-kilometre circuit and 1,326 walked in a 10-kilometre course, has reduced participant attendance, according to its organizers.
In its previous edition of 2019, Kenyan Timothy Kiplagat won a record time of 1:02:51 hours, the best career recorded in the event.
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