The Famalicão Half Marathon record, which had stood since the first edition of the race, was broken this Sunday by Kenyan athlete Jonathan Kickoech Kamosong. The athlete finished the race in 01:02:51, thus becoming the big winner of the 10th edition of the initiative, which brought together around 3,000 participants from 24 nationalities - the largest number ever.
The starting gun was fired by the Mayor of Vila Nova de Famalicão, Mário Passos, accompanied by Olympic athlete Fernanda Ribeiro, followed by a veritable ‘avalanche’ of athletes who ran through the main arteries of the centre of Famalicão and the surrounding parishes, seeking to beat personal bests and achieve a place on the podium.
Along the way, the runners enjoyed the support of the vast public and cultural moments at various points along the route in the city centre, creating a vibrant and motivating atmosphere.
The highlight of the Q8 10th Famalicão Half Marathon (21km) was the impressive performance of the African athletes, who set new records in the race.
The winner in the men's competition, Jonathan Kickoech Kamosong (Kenya) completed the 21 kilometres in record time, setting a new mark for the history of the event: 01:02:51. He was followed in second place by David Kiplagat (Kenya) with a time of 01:03:21 and, rounding off the podium, Eric Nzambimana (Burundi) with 01:03:31.
Mónica Silva (CDS Salvador do Campo) was the big winner in the women's 21km competition with a time of 01:17:53. Second place went to last year's winner, Dulce Félix (SL Benfica), who clocked 01:19:05 and in third place was Laura Silva (CDS Salvador do Campo), with 01:19:58.
In the 10 kilometre race, which was also well attended, the first to cross the finish line in the men's competition was Rafael Lopes (Santa Tecla) with a time of 00:30:04 and, in the women's race, Mariana Machado (SC Braga) with 00:34:41.
The men's podium was completed by Nuno Fernandes (CDS Salvador do Campo), who finished the race in 00:31:11, and Amado Martins (Santa Tecla), in 00:31:37. The second place on the women's podium was taken by Mariana Regalo (Maia AC) with a time of 00:35:30 and the third by Sara Duarte (SC Braga) with 00:35:44.
It should be noted that the Q8 10th Famalicão Half Marathon was organised by the Municipality of Vila Nova de Famalicão in partnership with Run Porto, and this year had the particularity of being part of the World Athletics competition calendar and the 10th European Games for Security, Protection, Rescue and Emergency Forces (X European Police & Fire Games), which took place in Braga.
