The African dominance of the Guadalajara Marathon was broken on Sunday when two hometown sisters claimed podium finishes in the women’s race.
Clocking a time of 2:37:07, Isabel Oropeza from Guadalajara became the first Mexican runner to win the race since 2015 and only the second-ever from the state of Jalisco. The women’s category had been consistently dominated by elite African athletes until now.
Isabel’s sister, Fanny Oropeza, secured third place, finishing behind Kenyan Betty Chepleting, who took second.
“I’m very happy and proud of the result,” Isabel said, adding that her victory was even more meaningful with her sister joining her on the podium.
The Oropeza family had even more reason to celebrate. Their brother, Israel, finished third in the men’s race, becoming the highest-placed Mexican runner.
As expected, the men’s race was dominated by African athletes. Six runners broke away early in the race, with Kenyan John Kemboi ultimately taking first place with a time of 2:14:22. Morocco’s El Mahhoub Dazza secured second place, followed by Uganda’s Ben Chelimo Somikwo.
The wheelchair races were won by Gonzalo Valdovinos González (1:47:50) and Ivonne Reyes Gómez (2:32:34).
Despite the 6:30 a.m. start, hundreds of spectators lined the streets to cheer on 7,400 participants. Runners passed many Guadalajara’s iconic landmarks, including the Millennium Arches, the Matute Remus Bridge and the Minerva Glorieta.
The 40th edition of the Guadalajara Marathon is classified as a World Athletics “Elite Label” Road Race, one of 66 races in this category. Above this are the “Gold Label” (45 races) and “Platinum Label” (16 races) classifications. Platinum events include prestigious marathons held in Boston, New York, Tokyo, London, Berlin, and Amsterdam, and other cities.