The last Saturday of May transformed České Budějovice into the running capital of the Czech Republic. More than 8,500 elite and recreational runners from over 60 different countries gathered at the historical Přemysl Otakar II Square for the Mattoni České Budějovice Half Marathon alongside other competitive and non-competitive races. Tereza Hrochová claimed a dominant victory, setting a new European race record in the process. The men’s category was won by Jorge Blanco from Spain.
The main race of the Mattoni Running Festival, a World Athletics Label event, kicked off at a very fast pace, with a pack of the six top favorites settling at the front right from the start. Just before returning to Přemysl Otakar II Square, the elite group began to break apart, splitting the runners into pairs. Frenchman Aziz Boukebal and the pre-race favorite Jorge Blanco of Spain took the lead. They continued to maintain an exceptional pace, crossing the 10-kilometer mark with an excellent split of under half an hour. At that moment, both were in contention for the European race record, and the only runner able to keep up with them was Ukraine’s Mykola Mevsha. After the race, the Spanish champion confirmed that his attack on the historic race best was dead serious. “It’s true that we went at a very good pace from the beginning; we passed the tenth kilometer under thirty minutes and I tried to break the record,” Blanco said, looking back at the fast opening. “Conditions in the second half were a bit more challenging, but in the end, my main goal was to win and run as fast as possible, which I achieved.”
Even before reaching the 15-kilometer mark, the Spanish runner broke away, steadily increasing his lead and maintaining it until the finish line, while Boukebal began to fade. Jorge Blanco thus crossed the finish line in a dominant time of 1:03:37. For the 32-year-old runner, this was his debut performance on Czech soil, and he takes nothing but the best memories away from South Bohemia. “Yes, it’s true that it was my first time here in the Czech Republic, and I couldn’t have achieved a better result than a victory,” he said, unable to hide his excitement at the finish line. “I really enjoyed the people and the city. I want to come back here in the coming years and win again. Now recovery awaits me, and in a fortnight, we are heading to another race,” he hinted, pointing to his upcoming start at the Mattoni Half Marathon Olomouc. While Blanco was celebrating, a battle for the remaining podium spots was raging behind him. Second place was eventually claimed by Mevsha, who finished 16 seconds behind the winner. Boukebal visibly ran out of steam in the final quarter, dropping to third place and stopping the clock at 1:04:18.
EuroHeroes, a unique project that seeks, supports and develops the talents of European athletics, has a new leader in the interim standings. The fifth-place finish of the Dutchman Choukoud in a time of 1:05:05 was enough for him to jump to the top spot, keeping his dream of defending last year’s title alive. Alongside today’s winner Blanco, Czech runner Damián Vích, who won in Karlovy Vary, is also in an excellent position for the upcoming battles, because only the 2 best performances from all 4 EuroHeroes races will count for final ranking.
In the women’s race, there was no doubt about the winner from roughly the seventh kilometer, when Tereza Hrochová from Czechia opened up a significant gap over Great Britain’s Natasha Wilson. As she passed through the square at the 8th kilometer, she held a lead of about half a minute and continued to stretch it. Around the tenth kilometer, it became clear that no one could threaten Tereza; on the contrary, she began to threaten not only the European but also the absolute race record. She was on pace for a time of around 1:09:50, but she slowed down slightly in the second half of the race, partly due to the heat in the streets of České Budějovice. On the course, she was briefly helped by Karel Tyrpekl, who waited for the Czech number one, but it was more of a short impulse. “It was really nice; we only ran together for a little while, a few hundred meters, if I perceived it correctly,” Hrochová said, appreciating his gentlemanly gesture. “It helped me immensely because it allowed me to get back into that faster rhythm, because when you run alone for a long time, you start losing your pace.”
She eventually crossed the finish line and the orange carpet in a time of 1:10:52, which was “only” enough for a European and, of course, Czech race record and an improvement of her own personal best. Meanwhile, the spectators in the České Budějovice square created a fantastic atmosphere for the winner, squeezing the last drops of energy out of her. “I just tried to go absolute maximum for the finish, so for the last few hundred meters, I was running on empty. I think it was obvious when I collapsed to the ground,” Hrochová described her immediate feelings after crossing the finish line. Despite the windy weather and a demanding solo run, she couldn’t hide her immense satisfaction. “The impressions are absolutely great; I’m very happy. Of course, there’s always something to improve. I think if I had run with someone the whole time, it would have been better. It was often quite windy out there, so if there had been someone else to tuck in behind some guys, it would have been better,” she remarked, looking back at her dominant performance. The former European race record, 1:11:26, was held by Ukraine´s Maryna Nemchenko from 2024.
Runner-up Natasha Wilson eventually finished 1:41 behind, but even that was enough for her to take the lead in the provisional standings of this year’s EuroHeroes edition. Third place was snatched by Czech Michaela Čepová in a dramatic sprint finish, putting behind her the unpopular fourth position from Karlovy Vary. In the final kilometers, she overcame Ukrainian veteran Olga Nyzhnyk, ultimately building a fifteen-second lead over her.
The next EuroHeroes race will take place in two weeks in the Moravian UNESCO city of Olomouc.
Men – Half Marathon
- 1. Jorge Blanco (ESP): 01:03:37
- 2. Mykola Mevsha (UKR): 01:03:53
- 3. Aziz Boukebal (FRA): 01:04:18
- 4. Pol Espinosa (ESP): 01:05:00
- 5. Khalid Choukoud (NED): 01:05:05
Women – Half Marathon
- 1. Tereza Hrochová (CZE): 01:10:52
- 2. Natasha Wilson (GBR): 01:12:33
- 3. Michaela Čepová (CZE): 01:13:49
- 4. Olga Nyzhnyk (UKR): 01:14:04
- 5. Bára Stýblová (CZE): 01:14:20
