Twenty-seven years and 37 seconds separated the woman from Palencia Ana Isabella Alonso and the catalan marta galimanythat this Sunday seized the Spanish marathon record to the former athlete, wishing him to “enjoy it for as many years” as he did.
“We know the record is at his feet. All the stars are lined up in Valencia”Ana Isabel Alonso, who had the “pleasure” of holding the title of Spanish Marathon Champion (2:26:51) for 27 years, assured in statements to EFE.
He achieved it in San Sebastián in 1995 and this Sunday he closely followed the race, from his home in Palencia, over coffee for breakfast, from start to finish. “I stood up just to see him,” he said. As he did many more times because he knew “his days are numbered”.
“I really enjoyed it”recognize. “When there was a minute and a half left for the record and I saw him step on the blue carpet, I knew he had it on his feet and he was finally certified.: 2:26:14″, he told EFE shortly after seeing how Galiany beat his national record in Valencia.
Soon after, he called her to congratulate her and wish her to “enjoy however many years she holds the record,” he said.
“I’m very happy because whoever is following him gets it and he never stops trying. The Valencia marathon was one of the best, it was a great day and he was in top form and broke the record”, said Alonso, who was left with the “happy face he had when he entered” and with the personal satisfaction of holding the title in his hands for 27 years.
“I can’t complain because I’ve had it for 27 years and I carry it in my heart”, he assured, while pointing out that when they take your record, you will no longer be “Ana Isabel Alonso, a record in Spain, they take away your last name and no one remembers you.”
He knows this, because before having that “surname” he had others: the Spanish half-marathon record, the Spanish 10,000 record, or the Spanish cross-country champion in different disciplines more than twenty times.
“But next year it will be someone else. Athletes pass and when you no longer have that title of fame, you pass. Especially in the case of female athletes,” said this Palencia native who retired from high-level athletics after the Sydney Olympics in 2000, although she never stopped living and enjoying it.
That’s why he thinks he’s lucky who continued “quite alive” because it continued to have the title that for almost three decades it was heavily pursued by other athletes, who were close to defeating it, -including Marta Galimany herself two years ago-, and “even media that I already have. I want to announce that the Spanish record has been broken”, joked Alonso.
In addition to 27 years and 37 seconds, these two women are separated by decades of progress in athletics, from Ana Isabel Alonso who went to San Sebastian in 1995 when she was an Olympic athlete to win a prize without financial compensation, until Marta Galiany of 2022.
“I did it in a marathon with a small amount of people, the participation was minimalWe don’t have prizes to motivate us. Everything has changed a lot,” he said.
That’s why he considered it “This is a victory for all women athletes” due to all the advances and efforts made to improve the marks, it seems very unusual that any Spanish athlete broke a long distance record like this. Although he also acknowledges that “all this gives more value to his record.”
Source: La Verdad
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