broke a new record and runs steadily towards Paris

The great performance he performed Florence Borelli in the “The Ten” race a few days ago in San Juan Capistrano, California, represents an important dose of confidence ahead of his participation in the Paris Olympic marathon, the great dream of his sporting career. In that test of 10,000 flat meters – a distance that he had rarely tackled on the track – Borelli was with several of the best specialists in the world and established a new South American record of 31 minutes, 33 seconds and 7 hundredths, leaving behind the record that the Brazilian Carmen Souza Oliveira had maintained for more than three decades with 31:47.76, achieved at the Stuttgart World Cup.

“I am very happy because I met this goal. Qualifying for the Paris Games was also a very big stimulus. I couldn’t get it for Tokyo since it was a complicated time, during a pandemic and with few competitions. Now I feel that I have arrived fully,” said Borelli, already back in Mar del Plata and facing the decisive stage of his preparation.

In recent times it had taken over the South American records in road events, both in 10 kilometers (31:59 in Florida, USA at the end of last year) and half marathona distance in which she was the first to lower the 1:10 barrier, leaving it at 1:09:28 during the Buenos Aires 21k in August 2023.

Another milestone in his campaign was the marathon silver medal at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, in October. And in February, in Seville, she broke the South American marathon record by placing in the top ten in Seville, where her time of 2:24:18 also automatically qualified her for the Games. Borelli was accompanied there by two other Argentine runners of great progress, who have raised the standard of our country in this demanding test: Daiana Ocampo – for the first time under 2:30 – and Chiara Mainetti, in her second participation in the distance.

“I will probably compete in another 10,000 meter event in London in May. But then I have to do altitude training, which I always do before these commitments and which serves as specific preparation for the marathon. I would need to arrive in Paris at least two weeks in advance of the test to acclimatize, since intense heat is expected,” she told us.

At 31 years old – he was born on October 30, 1992 – Borelli is one of the great “products” of the Mar del Plata long-distance runner pool, which had Olympic marathon representatives such as Mariano Mastromarino and María de los Angeles Peralta in the last decade, and which now also has another outstanding runner and Pan American gold medalist in the 3,000 hurdles, Belén Casetta.

The Olympic Games will return to Paris after a century. And they will also celebrate the 40th anniversary of the inclusion of the women’s marathon in their program, which happened in Los Angeles ’84 with the celebrated triumph of the American Joan Benoit.

Of course, Kenyans and Ethiopians will be the big favorites for the main positions, but athletes from other countries are excited about important performances. The minimum marks for the classification were already very tough (about 2:26) and the outlook opens up for numerous contenders, Borelli included, at least with the possibility of a top position.

The appointment of Kenyans and Ethiopians will be made at the end of April, when the period of the great international marathons of the northern spring concludes. In the Kenyan pre-team names like Peres Chepchirchir (champion of the 2021 Games, whose marathon took place in Sapporo), the former world champion Ruth Chepngetich (who was last year in Buenos Aires for the 21k), the former world record woman Brigid Kosgeiy other outstanding marathoners like Hellen Obiri, Rosemary Wanjiiru and Sheila Chepkirui. Female marathon runners in the United States are on the rise and challenging the “African legion” in major competitions. The United States Olympic selection, held recently in Orlando, qualified for the Games the revelation Fiona O’Keefe (she clocked 2:22:10), the national record woman Emily Sisson and Dakotha Lindwurm.

In the history of the women’s Olympic marathon, the best Argentine performance corresponded to Griselda González, 19th. at the Atlanta Games with 2:35:12. Later she went on to represent Spain. Among men, the marathon brought Argentina historic medals, its only gold medals in athletics with Juan Carlos Zabala in 1932 and Delfo Cabrera in 1948, in addition to Reinaldo Gorno’s notable runner-up finish in 1952. Several Argentine runners will seek to win next month. their qualification for Paris, which is supposed to be very tough: the national record holder Joaquín Arbe and Ignacio Erario will do it in Santa Rosa, while Eulalio Muñoz will travel to Rotterdam or Hamburg for the same attempt

The holding of several international tournaments between April 6 and 10 make these key dates for the elite of Argentine athletes. These tournaments, as well as the National Championship (during the weekend of April 12 to 14) will be the opportunity to qualify for the maximum commitments of 2024: the Ibero-American Championship in Cuiabá (May) and, for the small group of “elite “, add points towards the goal of the Olympic Games.

The program will begin with two tournaments in Concepción del Uruguay, on the 6th and 7th. And it will continue on the 10th in Mar del Plata with an event that will have the category of “Continental Tour”, for the first time in Argentina, as part of the World calendar. Athletics. Several of the figures of South American athletics will be in these tournaments, including the Uruguayan Emiliano Lasa – world and Olympic long jump finalist – and the Chileans Gabriel Kehr and Humberto Mansilla, both world hammer throw finalists. Mar del Plata will also be the venue for the National Championship and the road championship.

On the same April 14, but in Santa Rosa, the traditional Pampa Traviesa Marathon will be held, which this year is the National Distance Championship. There athletes like Joaquín Arbe and Ignacio Erario will try to find or get closer to the minimum mark required for the Games.