A Brazilian woman made history Sunday at the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon.
- Brazilian woman wins Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon
- Giovanna Martins placed first overall on Sunday
- She is belived to be first woman to win major half marathon
Giovanna Martins, of Salto, Brazil, finished the 13.1 mile race first overall in 1 hour, 19 minutes, 16 seconds. Martins’ first-place finish is believed to have made her the first woman win a major half marathon, according to race officials.
“To my knowledge, this is the first time a female runner has won a major half marathon race that included both male and female runners,” race director Jon Hughes said. “What I think is amazing is that in the 80s, the race field was only 15 percent women. Fast forward to today and our race participants are nearly 65 percent female.”
Martins, 34, beat second-place finisher Paul Graham of the United Kingdom by six seconds and third-place finisher Joseph Dreher of Melbourne, Florida.
"To be the first, now that's historic for Brazil, it's historic for this race," said Martins. "It's a story I'll tell my family, friends and students. I'll never forget it."
Martins is no stranger to Disney races. She won the women’s division in last year’s Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon. Martins also won the won the Walt Disney World Marathon in 2015 and 2017.
More than 15,000 runners participated in the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon.
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