Marathon runner brings Panama Olympic qualifiers to 5

THE 28-YEAR-OLD  Chiricano   runner Jorge Enrique Castelblanco  who on Sunday, April 17,  in Hamburg Germany  became the first  ever Panamanian to qualify for the Olympic Marathon, will join four  other national athletes.

Already qualified for the Rio Olympics are Yvette Lewis, Alonso Edward, athletics, and Carolena Carstens, taekwondo, and  swimmer Edgar Crespo, who made brand B.

Catelblanco got his Olympic ticket at the Hamburg Marathon  where he covered the  distance in 2 hours, 15 minutes and 57 seconds, enough to meet the 2 hours and 19 minutes mark required to attend the Olympics, to in August this year. He qualified in spite of strong head wins and a stomach problem that forced him to stop and go to a toilet ay the 28 km mark, breaking his rhythm.

The Ethiopian Abera Esfaye was the winner in Hamburg with a time of 2 hours, 6 minutes and 58 seconds; while compatriot Meselech Melkamu won the women’s In  2:21:54 a race record.

Marathoner explained yesterday that the route was complicated by wind and stomach problems that forced him to stop during the race to go to a toilet.

In addition to qualifying for  Rio 2016 now  he broke  national record for the marathon, which was held by Juan Solis since 1985 , with a time of 2 hours, 22 minutes and 51 seconds since 1985.

Castelblanco won the Easter Saturday Classic 10K  in Aguadulce, Cocle,  and in November, 2015 won the Panama International Marathon with a time of 2.32. 58.

Distance runner Danielle Wagner, female athlete with the best time in the marathon distance in the history of Panamanian athletics, is just four minutes off qualifying for the Olympics. She ran the marathon in Rotterdam (Netherlands), in  of 2 hours, 51 minutes and 32 seconds.