Yumileidis Mestre

Havana, November 28 (JIT) - Cubans Yumisleydis Mestre and Francisco Ronnei Estévez achieved excellent marks in the Cordoba 2022 Half Marathon in Spain, but the organizers ruled their disqualifications.

Like her teammate, Mestre came to the race as an invited guest due to her status as national champion of the distance, and with a time of 1:16:39 hours she was the first woman to cross the finish line.

However, in the midst of the celebrations she received the news that her effort was invalid, as her coach Angel Rodriguez told JIT.

"Everything very contradictory, they tell us that both are disqualified for being foreigners. That is the only explanation received so far and we are claiming," Rodriguez explained from the Iberian town where the 36th edition of the race was run this Sunday.

Mestre's mark qualifies as the second best of his life, while Estévez set his personal best in 1:04:20 hours, after finishing in fourth place among men.

"We are asking that, at least, their times be recognized, because they did very well and that motivates to continue training and looking for better marks in the future," confessed the experienced coach of long distance events.

"Ronnei now had his first race outside Cuba and lowered his personal best by four minutes. Yumisleydis came close to the best she has done so far. These are very good results", he emphasized after confirming that they will seek further explanations about what happened on Sunday.

More than 6 thousand participants took part in the Cordoba race. It was the first edition held after the covid-19 pandemic.

Mestre and Estevez reigned in the 21 kilometers of the Varadero 2022 Marathon.