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• 07 / 23 / 2007

RIO DE JANEIRO, 22 July- Cuban Mariela González won athletics first gold medal in marathon at the Pan American Games RIO 2007. She crossed the finish line at the Flamengo Park, in 2h43min11sec. Two Brazilian runners also made it to the podium. Márcia Narloch won the silver medal (2h45min10sec), and Sirlene de Pinho, who lead the race throughout most of the time, won bronze (2h47min36). The medal awarding ceremony takes place on Monday, 23 July at the João Havelange Stadium at 7:05PM.

González was very excited about her achievement:

"This has been the biggest achievement of my career. It was indeed a very tough competition, especially because of the heat. However, I managed to surpass Sirlene in the 31st kilometer when she was leading the competition and then I paced myself. It wasnt easy. I just want to celebrate now", she said.

The result of the competition was almost like a "rematch" to the Cuban. Mariela had placed second in the marathon at the Santo Domingo 2003 Games, losing to the Brazilian, who won silver at RIO 2007.

The fans came to the Flamengo Park to show their support to the runners, who endured Rio de Janeiros hot weather. The athletes started running in São Conrado, went through Leblon, Ipanema, Copacabana and Arcos da Lapa and finished on Presidente Vargas Avenue, downtown. The winner had to be helped at the end of the competition, whereas the Brazilians were placed on stretchers as soon as they crossed the finish line.

Source: rio2007.org.br