SAINT SILVESTER MARATHON

:''This article is about the race in São Paulo, Brazil. For the race held in Madrid, Spain on December 31, see San Silvestre Vallecana.''
The 'Saint Silvester Marathon' (official name in Portuguese: '''Corrida Internacional de São Silvestre''') is a long-distance running event, the oldest and most prestigious street race in Brazil.
Regarded as the main international event in Latin American athletics, the competition is held yearly in the city of São Paulo on December 31. This day is Saint Silvester's Day, as it is the day in which the Catholic saint, who was a Pope, died in the 4th century of the Christian Era.
Although it is named a marathon, the course is only 15 km (9.3 miles) long, less than half the length of a marathon. For this reason, the Organizing Committee has been referring to the event as "The Saint Silvester 'Race'", thus avoiding the word "marathon". Tradition and force of habit still dictates the traditional name, and many people, as well as part of the media, continue to refer to it as the "Saint Silvester Marathon". No direct effort has been made to correct the nomenclature of the race.
The race is made more difficult by the intense heat of the Brazilian summer and the geographical obstacles that have to be surmounted by the athletes. Dehydration and heat stroke, among others, are not uncommon for both annon runners and international stars (albeit much more common amidst amateurs).

Contents
History
Growth and prestige
Champions
Men
Women
Titles by country
Men
Women
External link

History


Cásper Líbero, a "media millionaire" of the early 20th century Brazil, is credited with originally coming up with the idea for the race. He used it as a means of promoting his newspaper. In 1928, the year of the race's 4th edition, he founded one of the first sports newspapers of the country, the "Gazeta Esportiva" (the "Sportive Gazette"), which then became the race's official organizer and sponsor. The race would be the main advertising element of this sports newspaper.
The marathon was held for the first time on December 31, 1925, which makes it 80 years old as of 2004. An interesting fact is that, unlike most events as old or older, it has 'not' been interrupted or suspended even once during its history (and the year 2004 will have seen its 80th edition), not even for the duration of WWII.
Originally, it was intended for men only, and participation was restricted to citizens of the city of São Paulo. In the following years, runners from other parts of the country joined the race, but it was not until 1941 that a runner not from the city of São Paulo won the race: José Tibúrcio dos Santos, of Minas Gerais, another Brazilian state. At that time, the event was not yet open to foreign participation. That meant that athletes from other countries could not come in to participate, but foreigners residing in the city of São Paulo (immigrants) were free to enroll. Because of this, Italian Heitor Blasi was the only foreigner to have won the race before 1947.
In 1945 the field was opened so that foreign runners could participate. The first international race was restricted to invited runners from South America, but the success of the first two "international events" led race organizers to open the event to the rest of the world in 1947. That year marked the beginning of a 34-year-long period during which no Brazilian man won the event, until José João da Silva, from Pernambuco, won in 1980 (he would repeat the feat in 1985).
The event would remain a men-only affair until 1975, when the United Nations declared that year as the ''International Year of Women''. In commemoration of this, the race organizers held the women's race for the first time. The women's race started as an open event, and the first Brazilian victory would come only in its 20th edition (in 1995), when Carmem Oliveira won.
In 1993, the first marathon for children was held (dubbed "São Silvestrinha", or "Little Saint Silvester" – a unisex event).
Until 1988, the race took place at night, approaching the New Year's, but the year of 1989 saw substantial changes in the race's format, in order to comply with the rules of the IAAF. The time of the race was altered (to 3:00 p.m. for women and 5:00 p.m. for men), the course direction was reversed, and men and women, who used to run together, had their races separated. In 1991, the length of the race was extended to 15,000 meters (the distance for the event used to vary almost yearly, usually between 6.5 km and 8.8 km). This variance needed to be corrected in order to meet the requirements of the Federation of Athletics. The Marathon was recognized internationally in that year of 1989.

Growth and prestige


For the first race, in 1925, 60 people filled applications to participate, but only 48 actually showed up on the day of the race. Of these, only 37 were officially qualified, since the rules then required that all runners had to finish within 3 minutes of the winner in order to qualify in the final board.
In 2004, 13,000 men and 2,000 women participated in their respective events.
Although the event had been open since 1945, it would become a noteworthy affair in the international calendar only in 1953, when the most famous runner of the time (and arguably of all time), Emil Zatopek, participated and won the race. In recent times, the foremost long distance runners of the last two decades (almost all of them, with the exception of Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia) have participated at least once in the event.
The principal winner of all times is now Paul Tergat, of Kenya, who has won the race 5 times (1995, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000). He also holds the record time for the present distance of 15 km, having won his very first race in São Paulo with a time of 43 minutes and 12 seconds.
Winning this event usually represents instant fame in Brazil. Accordingly, Tergat is one of the most recognized African personalities in the country, second only to Nelson Mandela.

Champions


Men

;National Era




















































































































































Year Athlete Country Time Distance
1925 Alfredo Gomes
Brazil
33min21s 8.8 km
1926 Jorge Mancebo
Brazil
22m35s3 6.2 km
1927 Heitor Blasi
Italy
23min 6.2 km
1928 Salim Maluf
Brazil
29m11s2 6.2 km
1929 Heitor Blasi
Italy
28min39s2 8.8 km
1930 Murilo de Araújo
Brazil
25min35s2 8.8 km
1931 José Agnello
Brazil
26min05s3 8.8 km
1932 Nestor Gomes
Brazil
25min23s02 8.8 km
1933 Nestor Gomes
Brazil
23min50s06 8.8 km
1934 Alfredo Carletti
Brazil
24min10s2 7.6 km
1935 Nestor Gomes
Brazil
N/A 7.6 km
1936 Mario de Oliveira
Brazil
23min38s04 7.6 km
1937 Mario de Oliveira
Brazil
N/A 7.6 km
1938 Armando Martins
Brazil
23m38s4 7.6 km
1939 Luiz Del Greco
Brazil
24m50s4 7.5 km
1940 Antônio Alves
Brazil
22m14s 7 km
1941 José Tibúrcio dos Santos
Brazil
22min12s 7 km
1942 Joaquim Gonçalves da Silva
Brazil
17min02s06 5.5 km
1943 Joaquim Gonçalves da Silva
Brazil
N/A 5.5 km
1944 Joaquim Gonçalves da Silva
Brazil
17min40s02 5.5 km

;International Era

























































































































































































































































































































































































































































Year Athlete Country Time Distance
1945 Sebastião Alves Monteiro
Brazil
21min54s 7 km
1946 Sebastião Alves Monteiro
Brazil
21min57s 7 km
1947 Oscar Moreira
Uruguay
21min45s 7 km
1948 Raul Inostroza
Chile
22min18s2 7 km
1949 Viljo Heino
Finland
22min45s 7.3 km
1950 Lucien Theys
Belgium
22min37s8 7.3 km
1951 Erik Krucziky
Federal Republic of Germany
22min26s5 7.3 km
1952 Franjo Mihalić
Yugoslavia
21min38s 7.3 km
1953 Emil Zatopek
Czechoslovakia
20min30s 7.3 km
1954 Franjo Mihalic
Yugoslavia
23min 7.3 km
1955 Kenneth Norris
Great Britain
22min18s 7.4 km
1956 Manoel Faria
Portugal
21min58s9 7.4 km
1957 Manoel Faria
Portugal
21min37s4 7.4 km
1958 Osvaldo Suarez
Argentina
21min40s3 7.4 km
1959 Osvaldo Suarez
Argentina
21min55s8 7.4 km
1960 Osvaldo Suarez
Argentina
22min2s1 7.4 km
1961 Martin Hyman
Great Britain
21min24s7 7.4 km
1962 Hamoud Ameur
France
22min08s5 7.4 km
1963 Henry Clerckx
Belgium
N/A 7.4 km
1964 Gaston Roelants
Belgium
21min37s7 7.4 km
1965 Gaston Roelants
Belgium
21min20s1 7.4 km
1966 Alvaro Mejia Flores
Colombia
29min57s7 9.2 km
1967 Gaston Roelants
Belgium
24min55s 8.7 km
1968 Gaston Roelants
Belgium
24min32s 8.7 km
1969 Juan Martinez
Mexico
24min02s3 8.7 km
1970 Frank Shorter
United States
24min27s4 8.9 km
1971 Rafael Tadeo Palomares
Mexico
23min47s8 8.7 km
1972 Victor Mora
Colombia
23min24s2 8.7 km
1973 Victor Mora
Colombia
23min25s 8.7 km
1974 Rafael Angel Perez
Costa Rica
23min58s 8.9 km
1975 Victor Mora
Colombia
23min13s 8.9 km
1976 Edmundo Warnke
Chile
23min50s8 8.9 km
1977 Domingo Tibaduiza
Colombia
23min55s 8.9 km
1978 Radhouane Bouster
France
23min51s6 8.9 km
1979 Herb Lindsay
United States
23min26s5 8.9 km
1980 José João da Silva
Brazil
23min40s 8.9 km
1981 Victor Mora
Colombia
23min30s2 8.9 km
1982 Carlos Lopes
Portugal
39min41s05 13.548 km
1983 João da Mata
Brazil
37min39s19 12.6 km
1984 Carlos Lopes
Portugal
36min43s79 12.6 km
1985 José João da Silva
Brazil
N/A 12.6 km
1986 Rolando Vera
Ecuador
36min45s 12.640 km
1987 Rolando Vera
Ecuador
39min02s56 13.040 km
1988 Rolando Vera
Ecuador
36min23s 13.040 km
1989 Rolando Vera
Ecuador
36min45s 13.040 km
1990 Arturo Barrios
Mexico
35min57s 12.640 km
1991 Arturo Barrios
Mexico
44min47s 15 km
1992 Simon Chemwoyo
Kenya
44min08s 15 km
1993 Simon Chemwoyo
Kenya
43min20s 15 km
1994 Ronaldo da Costa
Brazil
44min11s 15 km
1995 Paul Tergat
Kenya
43min12s
15 km
1996 Paul Tergat
Kenya
N/A 15 km
1997 Émerson Iser Bem
Brazil
44min40s 15 km
1998 Paul Tergat
Kenya
44min47s 15 km
1999 Paul Tergat
Kenya
44min35s 15 km
2000 Paul Tergat
Kenya
43min57s 15 km
2001 Tesfaye Jifar
Ethiopia
44min15s 15 km
2002 Robert Cheruiyot
Kenya
44min59s 15 km
2003 Marílson Gomes dos Santos
Brazil
43min50s 15 km
2004 Robert Cheruiyot
Kenya
44min43s 15 km
2005 Marílson Gomes dos Santos
Brazil
44min21s 15 km
2006 Franck Caldeira
Brazil
44min06s 15 km

::
Record for the present distance of 15 Kilometers.
Women


































































































































































































































Year Athlete Country Time Distance
1975 Christa Vahlensieck
Federal Republic of Germany
28min39s 8.9 km
1976 Christa Vahlensieck
Federal Republic of Germany
28min36s02 8.9 km
1977 Loa Olafsson
Denmark
27min15s 8.9 km
1978 Dana Slater
United States
N/A 8.9 km
1979 Dana Slater
United States
29min07s5 8.9 km
1980 Heidi Hutterer
Federal Republic of Germany
27min48s4 8.9 km
1981 Rosa Mota
Portugal
26min45s8 8.9 km
1982 Rosa Mota
Portugal
47min21s 13 km
1983 Rosa Mota
Portugal
43min41s59 12 km
1984 Rosa Mota
Portugal
43min35s57 12 km
1985 Rosa Mota
Portugal
43min00s85 12 km
1986 Rosa Mota
Portugal
43min25s 12 km
1987 Martha Thenório
Ecuador
46min27s 13 km
1988 Aurora Cunha
Portugal
42min12s7 12.640 km
1989 Maria Del Carmen Diaz
Mexico
43min52s 12.640 km
1990 Maria Del Carmen Diaz
Mexico
N/A 12.640 km
1991 Maria Luisa Servin
Mexico
54min02s 15 km
1992 Maria Del Carmen Diaz
Mexico
43min52s 12.640 km
1993 Helen Kimaiyo-Kipkoskei
Kenya
50min26s
15 km
1994 Derartu Tulu
Ethiopia
51min17s 15 km
1995 Carmem Oliveira
Brazil
50min53s 15 km
1996 Roseli Machado
Brazil
52min32s 15 km
1997 Martha Thenório
Ecuador
52min04s 15 km
1998 Olivera Jevtić
Yugoslavia
51min35s 15 km
1999 Lydia Cheromei
Kenya
51min29s 15 km
2000 Lydia Cheromei
Kenya
50min33s 15 km
2001 Maria Zeferina Baldaia
Brazil
52min12s 15 km
2002 Marizete de Paula Rezende
Brazil
54min02s 15 km
2003 Margaret Okayo
Kenya
51min24s 15 km
2004 Lydia Cheromei
Kenya
53min01s 15 km
2005 Olivera Jevtić
Serbia and Montenegro
51min38s 15 km
2006 Lucélia Peres
Brazil
51min24s 15 km

:::
Record for the present distance of 15 km.

Titles by country


Men

Brazil — 27 Times ('1')
Kenya — 9 times
Colombia — 6 times
Belgium — 6 times
Ecuador — 4 times
Mexico — 4 times
Portugal — 4 times
Argentina — 3 times
Chile — 2 times
France — 2 times
Great Britain — 2 times
Italy — 2 times ('2')
United States — 2 times
Yugoslavia — 2 times
Costa Rica — 1 time
Ethiopia — 1 time
Czechoslovakia — 1 time
Finland — 1 time
Federal Republic of Germany — 1 time
Uruguay — 1 time



'1' Brazilians won 17 times in the national era, and 10 times in the international era.

'2' Italy only won in the national era, with the Italo-Brazilian, Heitor Blasi.
Women

Portugal — 7 Times

Mexico — 5 Times

Kenya — 5 Times

Brazil — 5 Times

Federal Republic of Germany — 3 Times

United States — 2 Times

Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro — 2 Times

Denmark — 1 Time

Ecuador — 1 Times

Ethiopia — 1 Time

External link



Official website (in Portuguese)

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