Over 14,500 runners took to the streets on Sunday to partake in the 2024 Buenos Aires International Marathon. It was an all-time record for the 40th marathon, which has become one of the most important in the Southern Hemisphere. Kenyan Bethwell Yegon won the men’s race and Ethiopian Yenenesh Tilakin Dinkesa the women’s.
Sunday’s race not only included runners competing in the BA Marathon but also in the South American Marathon Championship. This competition, an annual race the South American Athletics organization holds for the continent’s athletes, gave local fans a reason to celebrate.
Argentine Chiara Mainetti won the title in the women’s race with a 2:34.50 in what was only her third marathon. The Misiones native became the third Argentine to win it — after Gabriela Almada in 2010 and Daiana Ocampo in 2019 — and finished fifth in the overall standings.
“I have been training in Cachi so I tried to do my best considering the weather. It wasn’t the time to go for a big mark,” Mainetti said after the race. Cachi is a town in Salta, located at 2500 masl, that has become a training hotspot for runners.
Paraguay’s María Fátima Vázquez came in second with a time of 2:44.19, followed by Argentine Olympic representative in Tokyo 2020 Marcela Gómez, who ended with 2:46:05.
In the men’s championship, Peruvian Ulises Martin Ambrosio was crowned winner with a 02:17:43, followed by Argentine Ignacio Erario, who finished in 02:18:01. Third place went to Paraguay’s Derlys Ramón Ayala, just 42 seconds behind Erario.
Friends in good and bad
Mainetti wasn’t the only Argentine who made headlines on Sunday. Longtime friends Miguel and Martín Méndez, who finished second and third in the South American Marathon, surprised many when they agreed to help each other through the last stages of the race and crossed the finish line virtually together.
For the organizers, however, there cannot be two racers with the same time. In the end, Maza was ranked 11th overall with a 2:19.27, just one second ahead of Méndez.
“After the first half together, I started to attack him but then he changed his pace,” Méndez told news outlet La Nacion, while Maza confirmed that they had decided on a joint strategy. “We discussed it between kilometers 30 and 34 and agreed that the weather was very demanding so it was preferable to help each other until the end,” he explained.
Sixteen African runners took part in the race, which, according to the organizers, “confirms this event as the most popular one in Latin America.”
Yegon, one of the favorites ahead of the race, had a record time of 2:06.14 in the 2021 Berlin Marathon. He beat countrymen Isaac Kipkemboi Too and Eliasa Kibet in the final stages to take first place with a time of 2:09.04.
In the women’s race, Tilakun managed to beat three-time winner Kenyan Rodah Jepkorir Tanui — the Buenos Aires course record holder with a 2:24.52 in last year’s race — finishing with a 2:27.15.
Runners were strongly affected by the weather. The temperature at the start was 18°C and almost close to 80% humidity, forcing elite stars to a cautious pace and posing an additional challenge for all runners.
The Buenos Aires route is a flat and fast route that brings runners past many of the most iconic spots in the city, including River Plate’s Monumental stadium, the Teatro Colón and the Obelisk on 9 de Julio Avenue, as well as Boca Juniors’ La Bombonera stadium.