FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Brazil's Costa Establishes New Streak at Dramatic
Walt Disney World Marathon
Brazilian runner wins second straight Disney Marathon after fierce battle
with perennial winner Adriano Bastos; Virginia Beach's Renee High easily
wins women's title; field of more than 16,500 pushes weekend total to
record 56,000 runners
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – (Jan. 8, 2012) – Brazilian runner Fredison Costa
did it again, holding off his heavily-favored countryman Adriano Bastos on
Sunday to win his second straight Walt Disney World Marathon.
Costa waged a fierce battle with the 7-time champion Bastos throughout the
26.2 mile race through Disney's four theme parks – Magic Kingdom, Epcot,
Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios – before narrowly winning. Costa
crossed the finish line in 2:19:01 – just 14 seconds ahead of Bastos
(2:19:15), who had won six Disney Marathons in a row before Costa's
back-to-back feat.
Renee High of Virginia Beach, VA., was the first woman to cross the line.
High, who is scheduled to run the marathon at the US Olympic Trials next
week in Houston, completed the race Sunday in 2:48:33 just ahead of Emily
Kroshus (2:53:11) of Boston and Christa Stephens (2:55:10) of St.
Petersburg, Fla.
Costa, 34, and Bastos 33, ran virtually shoulder to shoulder through much
of the race. But with about two miles to go, Costa inched ahead slightly
and maintained that slim lead until the end top become the first person
other than Bastos to win back-to-back Disney Marathon titles since Brazil's
Santiago de Araujo did it in 1998 and 1999. Costa's time was even quicker
than a year ago when he won with a time of 2:21:15. Matt Hensley of Port
St. Lucie, Fla. was third (2:23:11).
"I think a victory is a victory and they are always very special," Costa
said through an interpreter. "But I think this was such a difficult time
overcoming some things for me. I've been through so many things that this
race was very, very special to me."
Douglas Morton of Sebring, Fla. won the men's Masters Division (runners age
40 and over) with a time of 2:35:52 and Terri Rejimbal of Tampa won the
women's Masters Division (3:09:33). In the wheelchair division, Krige
Schabort of Cedartown, Ga. (1:46:16) won for the fourth straight year.
On Saturday, Jose De Morais of Brazil won the 13.1-mile Disney Half
Marathon with a time of 1:10.12. Rosa Chacha of Ecuador was the top woman
finisher, posting a time of 1:16.43.
In all, runners from all 50 states and 60 other countries took part in a
variety of Disney Marathon Weekend events, such as the Family Fiesta 5K,
Kids Races and the Disney Half-Marathon in addition to the Disney Marathon.
And once again more than 6,500 runners put themselves to the ultimate test
- Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge – by running the half-marathon on
Saturday and the marathon on Sunday.
Registration for the 2013 Disney Marathon Weekend opens this spring. To
register or for more information on all runDisney events, visit
rundisney.com. Also follow us on Twitter (@disneysports) and Facebook
(Disney Sports).
###
|
