Spanish ultrarunning returns to the world podium. Gemma Arenas claimed world bronze this Sunday and set a new absolute Spanish 100 km record of 7:17:50, which also stands as a new World W45 record. An extraordinary performance by the women’s team of #EspañaAtletismo, with a time of 22 hours and 20 minutes, earned the team silver medal at the IAU 100 km World Championship held in Ames (A Coruña).
Twenty laps to complete the 100 kilometers
The race began at 8:30 a.m., with nine Spanish entrants — five men and four women — competing before the Galician crowd in the season’s international ultrarunning showcase. The athletes had to complete 20 laps on a circuit of almost five kilometers. The first lap measured 4,985.29 meters and the remaining 19, 4,990 meters each. A straightaway of 102.37 meters at both the start and finish allowed the 100-kilometer exact distance to be achieved.
Thus, every five laps equated to approximately 25 kilometers of competition; the tenth placed the runners in the vicinity of the 50-kilometer mark and the fifteenth around the 75-kilometer mark, before tackling the final five laps.
Gazapo, tenth and first Spaniard to finish
The men’s team approached the competition with memories of the historic world silver won two years ago in Bangalore. Three members of that team — Antonio Jesús Aguilar, Félix Pont and Carlos Gazapo — returned to a 100 km World Championship, accompanied by international debutants Marco Álvarez and Jesús Rafael González.
The Spaniards moved together during the first quarter of the race. Antonio Jesús Aguilar and Jesús Rafael González completed the fifth lap in 1:29:09, with Marco Álvarez close behind in 1:29:55. Félix Pont passed in 1:31:04 and Carlos Gazapo registered 1:35:14.
Félix Pont withdrew before reaching the halfway point of the race, while the other four national representatives continued accumulating kilometers. Finally it was Carlos Gazapo who led Spain’s men’s performance. The Badajoz native crossed the finish line in tenth position with 6:31:09. After him came Jesús Rafael González, who wrapped up his debut with the Spanish team in a 21st position and 6:48:03. Marco Álvarez, also an international debutant and Spain’s champion in 2026, finished 36th with 7:06:52, while Antonio Jesús Aguilar completed the 100 kilometers in 48th position with 7:15:41.
Gemma Arenas, record holder in Ames
The women’s race ended up becoming the centerpiece for #EspañaAtletismo. Gemma Arenas, Estefanía Unzu, María Romero and Carmen María Pérez formed a unit that gained prominence as the kilometers passed, pushing Spain onto the world team podium.
Arenas, who just a few months earlier had set in Málaga the Spanish record of 7:20:57 in her 100 km debut, again demonstrated from the start her adaptation to the distance. The Manchega was the fastest Spanish runner during the race’s first quarter and completed the first five laps, around kilometer 25, in 1:32:02. Estefanía Unzu finished in 1:35:57, Carmen María Pérez in 1:36:51 and María Romero in 1:38:32.
The situation began to look even brighter for Spain on the road to the 75-kilometer mark. After completing 15 of the 20 laps, Gemma Arenas held second place with 5:15:20, while Estefanía Unzu was sixth with 5:22:47. María Romero was 12th with 5:32:27 and Carmen María Pérez, 15th with 5:36:08.
Gemma Arenas capped her extraordinary race by stopping the clock at 7:17:50, a mark that shaved more than three minutes off the 7:20:57 she had set as the Spanish record in Málaga. Her performance also set a new World W45 record.
Behind her, Estefanía Unzu, also known as Verdeliss, confirmed her superb run with sixth place and a time of 7:22:13, very close to the previous Spanish record she herself had held before Arenas surpassed it at the Spanish Championship. Carmen María Pérez completed the 100 kilometers in 7:41:03, while María Romero finished the Spanish showing with 7:47:31.
The aggregate of the Spanish performances finally took the women of #EspañaAtletismo to the world silver by teams, with a time of 22 hours and 21 minutes, crowning a World Championship at home.