The now sold-out Lisbon Half Marathon 2023 will feature a team capable of “setting records of immense value” and up to €50,000 in prizes for new world records, the organization announced this Wednesday.
The Maratona Clube de Portugal, which is responsible for organizing the race, scheduled for March 12, said in a statement that Kenyan Rhonex Kipruto and Ethiopian Girmawit Gebrzihair “promise the best records in Lisbon’s history.”
In addition to Kipruto, who holds the third fastest time in history (57.49 minutes), world record holder in the 10K and winner of the New York Half Marathon 2022, 11 other athletes with marks under an hour will take part in the race in the Portuguese capital, including Rogers Kvemoy (58.30), Hagos Gebrivet (58.55) and Sabastian Save (58.58).
The Lisbon Half Marathon, which crosses the bridge on 25 April, is the race that “holds” the world distance record (57.31 minutes) set by Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo in the 2021 edition.
In the women’s race, in which the world record is held by Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidei (1:02.52 hours), there will be three athletes in the peloton with personal bests faster than the best result of the Lisbon race (1:06.06, Ethiopian Tsehai Gemechu), two of them are in the top ten in the distance.
Among the Portuguese in the male sector, the presence of Rui Pinto (1:02:16), Fernando Serrao (1:05:01) and Eliu Gomes (1:04:32) is confirmed, and in the female sector – Susana Godinho, Solange Jesus, Sara Catarina Ribeiro, Dulce Felix and Ana Mafalda Ferreira.
The president of the Maratona Clube de Portugal envisions an “exceptional event”: “We have a really impressive group of athletes, both men and women, which could lead to the race record being broken again.”
Carlos Moya believes that the fact that the registration limit has already been reached – 15,000 for the half marathon and 15,000 for the 10K race – is “a clear sign of the confidence and relevance that the race is gaining on the annual calendar. from many Portuguese testimonies.