Havana, August 13 (JIT)-- Walkers Luis Alfonso Guevara and Arielis Santana won today the Olympic Ideal Half Marathon, held between San José de las Lajas, capital of Mayabeque province, and the municipality of Güines. 

The race greeted the 97th anniversary of the birth of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, the creation of the Cuban Olympic Committee and the International Youth Day.

The capital's Guevara led with a time of 1.14:21 hours, followed by Heibel Santana (1.14:50), from Cuban Runners, and José Angel Franco (1.15:01), from Matanzas. Arielis (1.44:22) was followed by her compatriots Ana Elvira Molina (2.05:00) and Alina Escobar (2.06.28).

"We thought that the heat would be the main adversary of this Half Marathon, but it was not. It turned out to be cool, and there were even some foggy stretches," Ricardo Ramirez, a regular at the event, told JIT.

"We know this course and we know how to keep to ourselves. It was a nice tribute to the anniversary of Fidel's birth," he said.

Teams from the municipalities of the host province also ran in the relay modality. The winners of each association of people with disabilities were awarded prizes and all the participants received diplomas.

The winners were awarded by the head of the Cuban Olympic Committee, Roberto Leon Richards; the president of Inder Osvaldo Vento Montiller, the first secretary of the Party in the province of Mayabeque, Yuniasky Crespo Baquero, and the governor of the territory Manuel Aguiar, among others.