Names such as Rosa Mota, Ana Cabecinha, Aurora Cunha or Ezequiel Cunha were honored by the Chamber of Faro as part of the 50th edition of the Grand Prix of the Kings, in athletics, this Saturday, January 4th.
These were joined by Albertina Machado, Alberto Chaíça, Ana Dias, Aniceto Simões, Armando Aldegalega, João Campos, Jorge Varela, Luís Horta, Mário Silva or Vera Fernandes.
At an official dinner in honor of athletes that took place after the Grand Prix of the Kings and the fifth edition of the Great Water Race – a playful and competitive associated competition for non-federated athletes and open to the general population -, Rogério Bacalhau, mayor of Faro, began by thanking and highlighting «the role of Professor Artur Lara Ramos [former President of the Board of the Algarve Athletics Association and former organizer of the Grande Premio dos Reis] as one of the great mentors of this event and a great booster of athletics in its most different strands in the region'.
Rogério Bacalhau also praised the success of another joint edition of the Grand Prix of the Kings and the Great Water Race – organized by the Municipality of Faro, Algarve Athletics Association and FAGAR EM – which, between the two competitions, «took about 1000 athletes to walk the streets of Faro, which beats all previous records».
Paulo Gouveia da Costa, chairman of the Board of Directors of FAGAR EM, also expressed “a very great pride in receiving in Faro some of the renowned athletes who won the Grand Prix of the Kings» and took the opportunity to leave an invitation to the fourth edition of the Half Marathon H20 of Faro, also organized by Fagar and the Municipality of Faro, with the technical support of the Algarve Athletics Association, to be held on the 4th of April.
In the sporting aspect, Jorge Varela revalidated the 2019 title in the Grand Prix of the Kings, completing the 6750 meters of the race – starting and finishing at Jardim Manuel Bivar and passages in Cidade Velha, Largo de São Francisco, Praça da Pontinha and Rua de São António – in 20 minutes and 17 seconds, beating Daniel Martins (20m17s) and Youssef Kalai (20m22s), also athletes from the CD Areias de São João.
In the women's race, Lithuanian athlete Annemari Kiekara was victorious, who completed the 4650 meters of the race in 15 minutes and 15 seconds, beating the Algarve athlete Ana Cabecinha (Clube Oriental de Pechão) and Manuela Martins (Marathon Clube de Portugal), both with a time of 15 minutes and 44 seconds.
Collectively, they won the Clube Oriental de Pechão, followed by the CD Areias de São João and ACAD Bela Vista.
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