FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Costa Comes Out on Top Again at Walt Disney World Marathon
Brazilian runner captures fourth straight win and sixth in the last seven
years; Fellow Brazil runner Giovanna Martins wins women's title; More than
23,000 runners tackle 26.2-mile race amid chilly Florida weather; Race
video and photos available
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Jan. 8, 2017) - Apparently not even Mother Nature
can beat Fredison Costa at the Walt Disney World Marathon presented by
Cigna.
The Brazilian runner, who has dominated the 26.2-mile runDisney race in
recent years, shrugged off unseasonably cool Florida temperatures early
Sunday morning to notch his fourth straight Disney marathon victory and
sixth in the last seven years.
This win, however, didn't come without a fight. In addition to battling the
chilly conditions, Costa, 39, fought off fellow Brazilian runner Vanilson
Neves who pushed Costa for the lead through much of the race which went
through Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Disney's Hollywood Studios before
finishing at Epcot.
But with about six miles to go, Neves started to run out of gas and Costa
turned on the speed, finishing in 2:23:15. Neves crossed the finish line in
2:30:24 followed by Samuel Fazioli Salem, NH in 2:33:23.
"At Disney, every mile is magical. It's all this happiness around and
that's what motivates me to come here," Costa, who resides in Orlando and
trains at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort,
said through an interpreter. "The atmosphere is amazing and I have a lot of
fun running here...The (weather) affected me a lot at the beginning of the
race, especially the wind. But I was able to overcome it and finish
strong."
Giovanna Martins of Brazil, 34, won the women's division for the second
time in three years, leaping across the finish line while screaming with
joy. She had little trouble outrunning the field, winning in 2:48:05, which
was sweet redemption after an injury prevented her from finishing the race
last year. Kelsey Wiberley of Fenton, Michigan was second at 2:52:56 and
Heather Schulz of Orlando was third in 2:59:13.
"This year I found out my nephew has spinal muscular atrophy and I ran to
dedicate this to him. It was my motivation for the year," Martins said
through an interpreter, explaining her jubilance and tears at the finish.
"I wanted to get the message out on behalf of kids like my nephew who have
this kind of condition."
The marathon was the final race of the four-day race weekend that included
events for runners of all ages and levels. It was also the first of four
runDisney race weekends scheduled for this year at Walt Disney World
Resort, which hosts runDisney events along with Disneyland Resort and
Disneyland Paris.
For more race information, race video and race photos, visit
www.disneysportsnews.com and www.rundisney.com.
BROADCAST QUALITY VIDEO FROM THE RACE CAN BE DOWNLOADED FOR NEWS PURPOSES
FROM THE LINK BELOW:
https://www.RelayIt.net/?c=fFHsgwHGj5hMxrqqmfpB9KgPK8f79tN7B3fQ
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