On Saturday, over 30 elite athletes from 10 European countries and another 13,000 recreational runners from more than 60 countries around the world, gathered at Olomouc’s Horní náměstí (Upper Square) for the 16th Half Marathon and accompanying runs of the Mattoni Running Festival. The race, which boasts the prestigious World Athletics Road Race Label, was dominated by Spaniards Jorge Blanco and Carolina Robles, with the latter also breaking the European race record with a time of 1:09:30.
Right from the start of the race, a pack of four favourites broke away from the rest of the field, namely Jan Lukas Becker and Jona Bodirsky from Germany, Jorge Blanco from Spain, and Mykola Mevsha from Ukraine. This quartet stayed together until the halfway point of the race, when Jorge Blanco first separated himself from Becker and Mevsha, and at around the 12th kilometer, from Bodirsky as well. He described this moment after the race as crucial on his path to overall victory: “We had great pace, I felt good, so I tried to push a bit more. I built a gap on the other runners and kept pushing to increase it.”
In Smetanovy sady, where the 15-kilometer mark was located, he already had a 14-second advantage over his Ukrainian pursuer. In the end, he dominated the race completely, securing a valuable double after his victory at the Mattoni Half Marathon České Budějovice, and also moving into the lead of the current EuroHeroes series standings.
“Czechia is becoming my favourite country to race in; it’s my second time here and my second victory, which I appreciate very much. At the same time, I really enjoyed the course profile, and the atmosphere was absolutely amazing,” Blanco added. Second place went to Mykola Mevsha, who lost by 26 seconds to the Spanish runner, while the bronze medal position fell to Jona Bodirsky, who was 43 seconds slower than the race winner. His compatriot Becker, who stayed with the fastest runners for a large part of the race, ultimately dropped to fifth place after being overtaken in the final kilometers by Dutch veteran Khalid Choukoud.
In the women’s race, Czech Olympian Tereza Hrochová and Spain’s Carolina Robles latched on to a group of men right at the start, pulling significantly ahead of their competitors. They gradually increased their lead over third-placed Hungarian Nóra Szabó and threatened the 2018 European race record from the start, which was held by Spain’s Trihas Gebre with a time of 1:09:51. The runners split between the ninth and tenth kilometer, when the Iberian Peninsula native broke away and the Czech representative couldn’t match her surge.
The 34-year-old Robles continued to accelerate in the second half, making it clear she was running toward her second EuroHeroes series triumph of the year, after her win in Mattoni Half Marathon Karlovy Vary four weeks ago. Her final time of 1:09:30 meant she beat the previous European race record by 21 seconds. “I felt great support from the spectators along the course, who chanted my name and drove me forward. The race itself was very demanding; I had a bit of an issue with the later start time, but I am very satisfied with the final time,” said Carolina Robles.
Finishing second, Tereza Hrochová fell just one second short of her personal best from Mattoni Half Marathon České Budějovice just two weeks ago, and with a time of 1:10:53, she broke the Czech race record, which had been held by Eva Vrabcová Nývltová since 2018. “The race wasn’t easy for me at all; I’ve had quite a lot of miles in my legs recently, but I didn’t experience any real crisis. When Robles accelerated at the ninth kilometer, I gestured to the guy I’d agreed with before the race to run together, suggesting we go with her. But after about 300 meters, I said no, this wouldn’t be comfortable anymore, so we slowed down. From then on, I had to run on my own, and after that, I didn’t have anyone with me to keep up a faster pace,” Hrochová evaluated. Third place went to Norwegian runner Hanne Mjøen Maridal, who lost just under 3 minutes to the Spanish representative.
Official results Mattoni Half Marathon Olomouc
Men – Elite
- Jorge Blanco (ESP): 01:03:08
- Mykola Mevsha (UKR): 01:03:33
- Jona Bodirsky (GER): 01:03:51
- Khalid Choukoud (NED): 01:04:30
- Jan Lukas Becker (GER): 01:04:55
Women – Elite
- Carolina Robles (ESP): 01:09:30
- Tereza Hrochová (CZE): 01:10:53
- Hanne Mjøen Maridal (NOR): 01:12:26
- Nataliia Strebkova (UKR): 01:12:43
- Michaela Čepová (CZE): 01:14:28
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