Elena Aguilar and Basilio Polvillo take the win in Desafío Doñana

A large audience approached Bajo Guía to see the cycling transition and follow the race segment on foot along the shore of Sanlúcar

 

The grenadine Elena Aguilar has become today the first Andalusian to achieve victory in the Doñana Challenge. The favorite in all the forecasts for the final triumph was imposed on the finish line of the beach of Bajo Guía with a 4 final time: 59: 36followed by Esther Córdoba in second position and Natalia Fischer as third to complete the podium.

 

 

"For me it is an honor to become the first Andalusian to win the Doñana Challenge, so I am happy, since it was also my first experience in this event, and I can not complain. I also want to congratulate the organization because yesterday had a difficult day and made a difficult decision, having to change the route. Everything has gone perfect. Here I have found myself at home, the public encourages a lot, besides that despite its hardness I develop very well for its characteristics. Next year I'll have to come back, for sure ".

 

Considering the change in the route Due to the tragic circumstances known, the duathlon that has been celebrated has been a success of participation and public. Among the relatives of the athletes and all who wanted to get closer to Sanlúcar to follow the test has achieved a spectacular color to stand out, given the adverse weather conditions of the day, with torrential rain in several moments and a lot of east wind, that hindered the evolutions of the participants in the test.

 

In the men's category, the fourth edition of Desafío Doñana has also seen how for the first time an Andalusian was the winner of the competition, the Sevillian of Camas Basilio Polvillo, which marked a 4 time: 31: 14 and crossed the finish line in front of Raúl Delgado and Hugo Sanchez. Polvillo was very happy after his triumph and dedicated it to him "to my family who has supported me so much and to all my friends who have come to see the competition today. For me it is a satisfaction to achieve victory here, in this tough test, that despite the suspension of the crossing of the Guadalquivir, the effort has been very great".

 

In the relay modality the triumph with a global calculation of 4: 11: 32, corresponded to the couple of Cordovan Juan Luque, who ended up in a bicycle segment in a 2 chrono: 03: 53, and the long distance runner Ramiro Roses, who completed the 31,7 kilometers with an 2 record: 06: 78.

 

At the beginning of the test was the mayor of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Víctor Mora, who made the previous tape cut. The trophies were handed out by the Secretary General for Sports of the Junta de Andalucía, Ignacio Rodríguez. Among the many attendees of the competition was the award-winning Sevillian windsurfer Blanca Manchón, who attended as a spectator and was pleasantly surprised by the great atmosphere.

 

Different route

The day was very hard for the brave athletes who participated in this fourth edition. Despite having reduced in this edition the distance of the cycling segment compared to previous editions, the strong wind and the intermittent rain suffered a great time difference between the first cyclists who came to the transition for the race on foot, and the last cyclists who finished around 75 minutes later.

 

The race on foot has been developed on a circuit close to eight kilometers, which the triathletes have given four laps, to total the 31,700 meters. The change from the beach on the shore of Sanlúcar to that of Doñana, despite the fact that spectacular scenery was lost, has also been beneficial for the runner, as he has noticed close up with family, friends and the public, which have encouraged them constantly.

 

The competition has had around 500 volunteers, from different Andalusian provinces, more than 100 bikes at the service of the organization, and the collaboration of a large number of Civil Guard traffic and municipal police officers of these municipalities.

 

Desafío Doñana also had the collaboration of several institutions, such as the Port Authority, Doñana Natural Area, the City of Sanlúcar especially and those of the other municipalities where the event took place: Rota, Chipiona, Jerez de la Frontera and El Puerto de Santa Maria. There was also private collaboration of companies such as Infisport, Coca Cola, Vodafone, Cruzcampo, Barbadillo, DKV, OK + wellness and fitness, Infex, Transfrutalla and Acquajet.

 

The little ones also had their place in Desafio Doñana. A total of 83 minors participated in the promotion tests of the Mini Challenge Doñana on the seafront and beach of Bajo Guía in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The rain and the change of route by the happened event yesterday in the opening of the Guadalquivir lowered the number of participants of the 180 preinscripts initially. However, the participants and their families enjoyed the competition with the setting of the green and ocher Doñana as a decoration.

 

The results of the competition can be found on the competition's official website: www.desafiodonana.com.