Millions of steps fill Caracas with color

(Caracas, February 20, 2011).-"I only felt I was winning when I passed the finishing line because you don’t win until you cross the line" were the words of Larryn Sanchez, the Venezuelan athlete who won first place in the CAF Caracas 2011 Marathon. The elite athletes who won first, second and third places in the male and female categories in 42K were presented to the public in a press conference with Enrique Garcia, president & CEO of CAF - Latin American development bank - which organized the event.

"They have my most sincere congratulations. They ran a beautiful race, which was very important for Caracas and Venezuela and for Latin American integration and an inspiration for the work we do in our institution," Garcia said, accompanied by the winning athletes in the male category: Larryn Sánchez (Venezuela), Sergio Pedraza (Mexico) and Pedro Mora (Venezuela); and in the female category: Yolimar Pineda (Venezuela), Norelys Lugo (Venezuela) and Mary Da Costa Oliveira (Brazil.)

Highlighting the effort of the athletes, Garcia said, "you, the athletes are the most important. You have made this a brilliant marathon by running an excellent race.” Sanchez - who won the 42K in a time of 2 hours, 19 minutes, 21 seconds - said "I congratulate the CAF team. It has been an event which has nothing to envy from races in other countries. This is how great athletes are made."

The CAF Caracas 2011 Marathon brought - for the first time - a 42.195K sports event to the Venezuelan capital, internationally certified by the IAAF, which was also the Venezuelan National Championship, Iber-American Marathon Championship and qualifier for the Pan American Games in Guadalajara in 2011.

The CAF president thanked the people of Caracas for their enthusiastic participation. He added that the success of the race would not have been possible without the alliances with the Ministry of People's Power for the Interior and Justice, Ministry of People’s Power for Sport, and Baruta, Chacao, Libertador and Sucre municipalities, among other organizations and companies in the private and public sectors.

The marathon was backed by over 1,200 officers who guarded the route. García concluded "this was important because safety was a priority for our organization." He thanked the Traffic Police, National Police, Metropolitan Police and the police forces of Baruta, Libertador, Chacao and Sucre, fire departments, and civil defense for their efforts.

Winners

The list of winners of the 42K included competitors representing the shareholder countries of the Latin American financial institution from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela who received their trophies as winners of the first 10 places in the race.

The prizes were presented by CAF President & CEO Enrique García, CAF Vice President & Deputy CEO Luis Enrique Berrizbeitia, People's Minister for Sport Héctor Rodríguez, Libertador Municipality Mayor Jorge Rodriguez, the Secretary General of the Venezuelan Federation of Athletics, Marcos Oviedo, and president of Right To Play, Johann Koss, among others.

The winners and times of the 42K were:

Male Category:

1.	Larryn Sánchez	2 h 19 '21"	Venezuela
2.	Sergio Pedraza	2 h 21 '31"	México
3.	Pedro Mora	2 h 25 '31"	Venezuela
4.	Nicolás Ternavasio	2 h 25 '43"	Argentina
5.	Oscar Alastre	2 h 25 '55"	Venezuela
6.	Jeferson Rivas	2 h 26' 20"	Venezuela
7.	Serapio Galindo Bustincio	2 h 26 '21"	Perú
8.	Manuel cabrera	2 h 32 '23"	Chile
9.	Ramón Rivero	2 h 33 '54"	Venezuela
10.	Clímaco Fonseca	2 h 34 '31"	Colombia

Female Category:

1.	Yolimar Pineda	2 h 50 '21"	Venezuela
2.	Norelys Lugo	2 h 54 '03"	Venezuela
3.	Mary Da Costa Oliveira	2 h 54 '57"	Brasil
4.	Grecia Pilar	3 h 00 '54"	Ecuador
5.	Milagros Lugo	3 h 01 '17"	Venezuela
6.	Rosa Rivera	3 h 06 '21"	Colombia
7.	Nancy Osorio	3 h 08' 09"	Ecuador
8.	Maria Grazzia Bianchi de García	3 h 13 '32"	Venezuela
9.	Miriam Ramírez	3 h 19 '28"	Venezuela
10.	Gianny Gerardo	3 h 20 '06"	Venezuela

Caracas Fiesta

The CAF Caracas 2011 Marathon was not just a event for sports enthusiasts but for all the community. Hundreds of residents of the capital took to the streets along the 42 kilometer route to support the runners, which was a great source of motivation for the athletes.

The animation points set up along the route were also scenes of entertainment which gave a touch of color and music to the capital on Sunday, especially the participation of the Venezuelan National Youth Orchestra whose music brightened up Parque Los Caobos, the finish of the marathon route.