Winner of the CAF La Paz 3600 footrace to compete in Lima 21K Half Marathon

(La Paz, April 29, 2010).- The young athlete Richard Mamani, absolute winner of the first La Paz 3600 footrace organized by CAF and the La Paz municipal government in November 2009, will participate in the Lima 21K Half Marathon to be held May 2 in the neighboring country. This activity is one of the prizes which the runner won after taking first place in the 10 km race.

"CAF took the initiative of organizing a foot race competition as part of its permanent support for promotion of sport. In the case of winner Richard Mamani, we are supporting a Bolivian sportsmen in the international sphere," CAF director representative in Bolivia Emilio Uquillas said. He added that in the second La Paz 3600 race efforts will be made to incorporate the winner of the women's category into this type of participation.

Mamani is considered to be one of the top Bolivian sportspersons. Last year, he competed in the Odesur and Alba games, and various South American events. "My personal objective is to improve my own 21 km national record, which is one hour five minutes," said the athlete, who has been preparing with his trainer Mariano Mamani for over a month.

On the competition in Lima, Richard said this would be the first time he has felt "fully supported" because CAF and La Cuissine company are paying his airfares, travel expenses, transport, food, sports clothing and registration in the international competition. And, the Coca-Cola Company has given him a lot of Agua Vital for his training.

The II 42K 2010 Lima Marathon has three distance categories: marathon, half marathon and 10 km. So far, over 10,000 Peruvian and foreign athletes have registered for the competition, which is part of the calendar of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the Association of International Marathon and Distance Races (AIMS).

The young athlete was born in Avichaca, Omasuyos province in La Paz department and now lives in El Alto city. He is recognized as one of the most important figures in Bolivian athletics and is planning to return to run in the La Paz 3600 race, whose second race is now being organised by CAF. This sports event was the initiative of the multilateral bank with the backing of the La Paz municipal government and local private businesses.