Portuguese athlete Solange Jesus was happy to finish the marathon of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest this Saturday, despite the period caused by dehydration and the 60th place.
The 36-year-old Feirense marathon runner completed the 42.195 kilometers in 2:45.08 hours, in 60th place, 20.45 minutes behind the winner, Ethiopian Amane Beriso Shankule, who completed 2:24.23 hours.
The athlete from Oliveira do Bairro completed the first half marathon in 1:15.12 hours, 43 seconds behind the leading group, and broke in the second half – at 30 kilometers she already had an 8.10 minute lead.
“I don’t feel like I paid the price because I know the preparation went really well. We were confident and knew we were worth something really interesting, but well, this is a championship. Even the first athletes didn’t.” “I didn’t run too high, I also protected myself, and in my case it was the gastrointestinal problems that caused me to stop several times, hurt like an ass and vomit,” he explained.
Despite the difficulties, Solange Jesus, who admitted to getting dehydrated during the race, which took place in a temperature of about 29ºC, pursued her goal: to finish the race.
“I always tried, and also with the help of the public, to finish the game, because that was the first goal. I made the first stop around 14 miles, when there was still a lot to go, and then, from then on, I had to stop several times,” he complained.
Even far from her personal best of 2:28.15 hours, which she already achieved this year at the Paris Marathon on April 2, Solange Jesus said she felt “physically good” and most importantly, “happy”.
“I’m happy because I finished. And I felt good! On a muscle level I’m doing well, I didn’t feel too much wear and tear from the race, because I did a really good preparation, with no accidents, but it was a less successful day,” he resigned himself.
Solange Jesus admitted that he was looking for the qualifying figure for the Paris 2024 Olympics, set at 2:26.50.
“We are still fighting because Paris2024 is only for next year,” he stressed.
Of the 78 registered and the 77 present, 65 athletes finished.
Amane Beriso Shankule won the marathon’s emblematic distance in 2:24.23 hours, beating her compatriot Gotytom Gebreslase, Oregon 2022 champion, by 11 seconds, while Morocco’s Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi finished in third place at 54.
The best Portuguese results in this emblematic distance were achieved by Rosa Mota, in Rome 1987, and Manuela Machado, in Gothenburg 1995, when they became world champions.
Source: DN
