Spain names strong marathon team

Spain has named an initial team of eleven athletes for the marathon at the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships.

Spain names strong marathon team for European Championships

Both the men’s and women’s marathons take place on the last day of the programme on Sunday 12 August. The women’s marathon begins at 9.05am local time with the men’s marathon starting at 10.00am.

Javier Guerra just missed out on a medal at the European Championships in Zurich four years ago when he finished fourth but he leads the European lists with a lifetime best of 2:08:36 from the Seville Marathon in February. He is also the only European to break the 2:10-barrier for the distance this year.

Guerra turned 34 in November but he is still the youngest of the quartet named on the men’s team for Berlin. Their team also includes Camilo Raul Santiago, who will be making his first appearance in a major championships at the age of 35 after setting a 2:13:56 PB in the Milan Marathon last weekend.

By contrast, Jesus Espana will be contesting his seventh successive European Championships. Espana memorably outsprinted Mo Farah to win the European 5000m title in Gothenburg 2006 and the 39-year-old sealed selection for Berlin after he was the second Spanish finisher home in the Seville Marathon in 2:13:24.

Another veteran to be named on the team is Ayad Lamdassem, twice an individual medallist at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships.

A shortlist of seven athletes has been nominated for the women’s marathon. The standout names include former two-time Seville Marathon winner Paula Gonzalez with a lifetime best of 2:28:54 and Marta Esteban, who won the Spanish Championships which was staged in conjunction with the Seville Marathon in February in 2:31:24.