Portuguese players dominated the 2022 Virtus World Half Marathon

The 2022 Virtus World Half Marathon concluded today in the beautiful city of Viseu in Portugal. The event was organised by Virtus member ANDDI- PORTUGAL. The tournament took place as a part of the famous Mega Maratona de Viseu. Fifteen athletes with intellectual impairments took part in the event and ran alongside 700 other athletes.

The host nation kept the spotlight on them and won both male and teams championship title.

Men’s II1

Cristiano Pereira from Portugal was the World Champion in Men’s II1 category.

“I am very proud because I could repeat my win and defended my World Championship title successfully. I am now a two times Virtus World Champion in Half-Marathon. My happiness also doubled because I won in my home country, in my region. 

The Portuguese athlete also described how hard he was training for this tournament, practising twice daily and also over the weekend.

Asia Santos from Spain grabbed the Silver in the same event and Mohamed Harsh from Denmark made it to the final spot on the podium.

Women’s II1

In the Women’s II1 category, Anna Bodziony won the Championship title and was followed by Monica Wyrobek in second place. Both were representing Poland.

Men’s II3

In II3, although Alexander Neilson from Denmark was the only participant in his category, he had a marvellous race and finished overall fourth, including both athletes with and without impairments. He was awarded the Gold medal in his category.

Team event

In Teams event, the Portuguese men took the trophy this year. The team consisted of Christiano Pereira, Paulo Benevente, João Monteiro and Luis Pimentel.

For full results, visit Mega Maratona website.