Viviane Lyra at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 (© Getty Images)
Home hope Viviane Lyra and Ecuador’s Paula Torres will form part of an intriguing women’s marathon clash at the Caixa World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Brasília 26 on Sunday (12).
More than 40 athletes from 13 federations are entered for the event, which makes its World Athletics Series event debut in Brazil. Some of the leading names will be racing for the first time over this new distance, which will be contested on a 2km loop course in the Brazilian capital.
Much attention will be on Lyra, the South American 20km race walk champion who set an area best of 3:24:54 when making her marathon race walk debut in Dublin in December. That makes her the fastest among the entrants when it comes to PBs and she also brings great championship experience – the 32-year-old finished fourth in the 35km and eighth in the 20km at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest before repeating that double in Tokyo last year, placing 12th in the 20km and 13th in the 35km.
Among those joining her on the Brazilian team are two-time South American medallist Gabriela de Sousa and Mayara Luize Vicentainer, who step up to the marathon for the first time as they all look to make an impact on the team standings on home roads. De Sousa started her year with a half marathon win in 1:45:09 in Brasília, while Vicentainer has raced the shorter distance twice so far this year, her best being 1:44:43 in Timbó last month.
Torres leads an Ecuadorian team looking to follow in the footsteps of individual champion Glenda Morejón and the squad that secured the 35km team title for the nation in 2022.
Torres clinched world 35km bronze and finished fourth in the 20km at the World Championships in Tokyo last year. She was fifth in the 20km at the last edition of the World Race Walking Team Championships in Antalya two years ago and has tested herself in the half marathon twice this year, winning the national title and then finishing fourth in Dudince in a PB of 1:36:18.
She will line up alongside her teammates Magaly Bonilla, Johana Ordóñez and Karla Jaramillo, who were all part of the Ecuadorian squad that secured 35km team success in 2022, plus Nataly León. Bonilla clocked 3:34:11 for the marathon last year, while León won the national title in 3:36:29 in February.
Italy’s 2019 world 50km race walk bronze medallist Eleonora Giorgi also makes her marathon race walk debut. Joined by Sofia Fiorini, the 21-year-old who set a European best of 3:27:19 to win the national title in January, they will be seeking a strong team performance alongside 2022 European 35km race walk fourth-place finisher Federica Curiazzi.
China top the entry list with five of the six fastest athletes so far this year and they will be powerful team contenders. Xi Ricuo leads the way after her 3:25:38 performance to finish third at the Chinese Race Walking Grand Prix in Taicang last month. Sangdan Quzhen (3:26:25), Zhang Jiahui (3:27:29), Asian Race Walking Championships silver medallist Li Yanhong (3:28:24) and Li Xinyu (3:28:49) filled the next four spots in that race and will want to build on those results in Brasília to win another team title after the nation’s 50km team win in 2018 and multiple 20km team victories.
National champion Manju Rani leads the Indian team after clocking 3:33:24 in February, while 2021 world U20 champion Sofía Ramos Rodríguez is back in action for Mexico after winning in Dudince in 3:35:37.
Jess Whittington for World Athletics