In the final morning session, the women’s marathon team claimed the team bronze, re-asserting the achievement won two years earlier in Rome 2024 (it was in the half marathon). Additionally, Carolina Robles finished eighth in her European distance debut and added another finalist spot for the Spanish delegation.
In the women’s marathon, Carolina Robles (2:28:07) was the highest-placed Spaniard in the second marathon of her life, after making her debut last March at the National Championship in Barcelona where she was crowned Spanish champion, earning a finalist spot for #EspañaAtletismo by finishing in eighth. The Andalusian stayed from the start in the chasing group that aimed to catch the Finnish Alisa Vainio, who would ultimately win the race with a championship record. The former hurdles specialist held on with that group until the final kilometers, when the race finally split in the medal battle. Carolina could not follow the leaders, but she managed to maintain her pace and defend, during the last 12 kilometers, a valuable eighth place.
The European road champion in marathon last year, Fatima Azzahraa Ouhaddou (2:30:37), finished in fifteenth. The third Spanish runner to cross the line was Ester Navarrete (2:31:57), eighteenth, while Meritxell Soler (2:32:31) arrived shortly after in twentieth. The combined times of the first three Spaniards allowed #EspañaAtletismo to claim a magnificent team bronze medal and repeat the result achieved at the previous European in Rome (it was the half marathon given the Olympic year).
In the men’s event, finally #EspañaAtletismo finished fourth for teams after having been in bronze medal position for a large part of the race. The Spaniards remained very compact within the leading group for much of the race. Before the 25-kilometer mark, the German Amanal Petros decisively broke clear and went solo in search of a gold that he would end up winning with a championship record. From then on, the Spaniards began to lose touch with the leading group and drifted away from the spots for individual finalists.
Finally, #EspañaAtletismo finished fourth for teams. Jorge González (2:11:10) was the first Spanish runner to cross the finish line, in fourteenth position, exhibiting great courage by remaining with the leaders in the early stages. The second was Carlos Mayo (2:11:27), who ended just behind, in fifteenth position. Mayo completed a race that went from back to front after not being part of the leading group during the initial stages.
Tras Carlos llegó el campeón de Europa de 5000 m en Amsterdam 2016, Ilias Fifa (2:11:33), que terminó en decimosexta posición. El español realizó una carrera muy valiente y llegó a pasar en segunda posición por la media maratón. El cuarto español en meta fue Ibrahim Chakir (2:12:28), vigésimo y también protagonista durante varios kilómetros en la cabeza de carrera.
Jorge Blanco (2:14:55) cruzó la meta en vigésimocuarta posición, completando, al igual que Mayo, una carrera de menos a más en la que fue adelantando atletas progresivamente. Por último, Fernando Carro (2:21:14), plusmarquista nacional de 3000 m obstáculos, en su primera actuación internacional en ruta y debutante en la maratón de un Europeo, sufrió en los últimos kilómetros y terminó la prueba en la posición número cuarenta.
En la clasificación por equipos, #EspañaAtletismo se quedó a las puertas del podio con una cuarta posición, por detrás de Israel, Alemania y Francia. El conjunto francés terminó superando a España por tiempos una vez completada la prueba.
This afternoon the final session of the European Championship will arrive. #EspañaAtletismo will reach the final events with Yulenmis Aguilar in javelin, Fatima Diame in long jump, Dani Arce and Alejandro Quijada in 3000 m steeplechase, and the Golden Bubbles in the women’s 4×400 m. The session will begin at 20:50 and can be followed on Teledeporte, RTVE Play or Eurosport.