Florencia Borelli’s dream is another big step: she breaks a new record and runs briskly towards Paris

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

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

Lately it had gained the upper hand South American records in road races, both in the 10 kilometre (31:59 in Florida, USA, late last year) and half marathondistance in which she was the first to lower the 1:10 barrier, leaving her at 1:09:28 during the 21km of Buenos Aires in August 2023.

Another milestone in his campaign was the silver medal in the marathon 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 very advanced Argentine runners, who raised the level of our country in this demanding test: Daiana Ocampo – under 2:30 for the first time – and Chiara Mainetti, in her second participation in the distance.

“I will probably compete in another 10,000m 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 should arrive in Paris at least two weeks before the test to acclimatise, as intense heat is expected,” she told us.

At 31 years old – he was born on 30 October 1992 – Borelli is one of the great “products” of the Mar del Plata marathon runners’ pool, which has seen Olympic marathon runners such as Mariano Mastromarino and María de los Angeles Peralta as protagonists in the last decade, and who now it also has another exceptional 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 took place in Los Angeles in ’84 with the celebrated triumph of the American Joan Benoit.

Obviously, Kenyans and Ethiopians will be the big favorites for the main positions, but athletes from other countries are thrilled with major performances. The minimum marks for the classification were already very tough (around 2:26) and the prospects are opening up for numerous contenders, including Borelli, at least with the possibility of a top position.

The meeting between Kenyans and Ethiopians will take place at the end of April, when the period of the great international marathons of the northern spring will end. 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 in Buenos Aires for the 21k last year), the former world record holder Brigida Kosgeme and other important marathon runners like Hellen Obiri, Rosemary Wanjiiru and Sheila Chepkirui. Marathon runners in the United States are on the rise, challenging the “African Legion” in major competitions. The United States Olympic selection, recently held in Orlando, qualified for the Games the revelation Fiona O’Keefe (she clocked 2:22:10), the national record holder Emily Sisson and Dakotha Lindwurm.

In the history of the women’s Olympic marathon, the best Argentine performance went to Griselda González, 19th. at the Atlanta Games with 2:35:12. He later continued to represent Spain. Among men, the marathon brought Argentina historic medals, its only gold medals in athletics coming with Juan Carlos Zabala in 1932 and Delfo Cabrera in 1948, as well as Reinaldo Gorno’s notable second place in 1952. Several Argentine runners will try to win the qualification for Paris next month, which promises to be very tough: 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

April, a key month for Argentine athletes

The holding of numerous international tournaments between 6 and 10 April make these dates fundamental for the elite of Argentine athletes. These tournaments, as well as the National Championship (on the weekend of 12 to 14 April) 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”, adds 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 will continue on the 10th in Mar del Plata with an event that will have the “Continental Tour” category, for the first time in Argentina, as part of the World Athletics calendar . Various figures from South American athletics will take part in these tournaments, including the Uruguayan Emiliano Lasa – world and Olympic finalist in the long jump – and the Chileans Gabriel Kehr and Humberto Mansilla, both world finalists in the hammer throw. Mar del Plata will also be the venue for the National Championship and the Road Championship.

On the same April 14th, but in Santa Rosa, the traditional Pampa Traviesa Marathon will take place, which this year is the National Distance Championship. There athletes like Joaquín Arbe and Ignacio Erario will try to find or come close to the minimum score required for the Games.