Giro di Castelbuono

Giro di Castelbuono

The Castello dei Ventimiglia sits at the centre of the small town
Date Late July
Location Castelbuono, Italy
Event type Road
Distance 11.2 km
Established 2000
Official site Giro di Castelbuono

The Giro di Castelbuono (officially Giro Podistico Internazionale Castelbuono) is an annual road running competition over 10 kilometres which takes place in Castelbuono, on the island of Sicily, Italy. First held in 1912, the competition is one of the oldest road races in Europe,[1] which is the inspiration for the event's nickname – "La Corsa Più Antica" (The Oldest Race).[2] The race, typically held on (or around) July 26 to coincide with Saint Anne's Day, has been held almost every year since its inauguration, although the two World Wars interrupted the event over those periods.[3][4] The race has been broadcast every year for a decade by Italian television channel Rai Sport Più.[5]

From 2011 onwards, the race departed from its long-standing original distance of 11.3 kilometres and switched to a certified 10 km circuit.[6] From 1912 to 2010, the course of the race followed a looped pattern of ten laps of roughly 1.13 km around the historical centre of the town. The start and end point of the race was at Piazza Margherita. Beginning at the square, the route went south along Via Roma and into Via Mario Levante. It then went east along Via Camillo Benso Conte Di Cavour before heading back north along Via Vittorio Emanuele II. The course then followed Via Umberto I in a north-westerly direction which arrives back at the starting point.[7] The race is a challenging one for athletes as they must contend with a difficult uphill section on each lap.[8]

Over the history of the event, the Giro di Castelbuono has attracted many of the sport's top athletes. Among the past winners are former world record holders Khalid Khannouchi and Paul Tergat, three-time London Marathon winner Martin Lel, and four-time road running World Champion Zersenay Tadese. The pre-international era of the race also featured prominent runners, including Gelindo Bordin, Orlando Pizzolato, Venanzio Ortis, Franco Fava, as well as Sicily's own Luigi Zarcone.[5] While the competition has principally been a men's race throughout its existence, a women's race was featured on the programme from 1995 to 2004. Winners of this short-lived race included Rome Marathon winner Gloria Marconi, Florence Marathon winner Florence Barsosio and multiple Major Marathon champion Margaret Okayo.[9]

Contents

Past winners

National era

Edition Year Men's winner Time (m:s) Club
1st 1912 Giovanni Blanchetè 51:36 S.S. Ercole Palermo
2nd 1913 Giovanni Blanchetè 50:15 S.S. Ercole Palermo
3rd 1914 Sgr. Scelta 48:20 S.S. Sport Club Palermo
— 1915–1919 Not held due to World War I
4th 1920 Ignazio Militello  ? S.S. Sport Club Termini Imerese
5th 1921 Agatino Mascali 44:40 S.S. Pro Etna Catania
6th 1922 Agatino Mascali 42:50 S.S. Pro Etna Catania
7th 1923 Agatino Mascali 43:10 S.S. Pro Etna Catania
8th 1924 Agatino Mascali 42:10 S.S. Pro Etna Catania
9th 1925 Gaetano Spreafico 41:26 S.S. Pro Patria Busto Arsizio
10th 1926 Gaetano Spreafico  ? S.S. Pro Patria Busto Arsizio
11th 1927 Gaetano Citarrella 41:30 Ferriera Ercta Palermo
12th 1928 Gaetano Citarrella 41:55 M.V.S.N. Palermo
— 1929–30 Not held
13th 1931 Giuseppe Lombardo 42:20 F.G. Reggio Calabria
14th 1932 Domenico La Bianca 41:08 S.S. Unione S. Italia Palermo
15th 1933 Domenico La Bianca 41:50 S.S. Unione S. Italia Palermo
16th 1934 Domenico La Bianca 41:00 S.S. Unione S. Italia Palermo
17th 1935 Ercole Morello  ? S.S. Sport Club Palermo
— 1936 Not held
18th 1937 Salvatore Merlino  ? F.G. Bagheria
19th 1938 Nicola Ruggeri  ? G.U.F. Messina
20th 1939 Nicola Ruggeri  ? G.U.F. Messina
— 1940–41 Not held due to World War II
21st 1942 Antonio Fontana  ? VV.FF. Palermo
— 1943–45 Not held due to World War II
22nd 1946 Sgr. Renda  ? G.P.U. Messina
23rd 1947 Giovanni Cultrone 39:40 S.S. Fiamma Vittoria
24th 1948 Giulio Panico 38:35 G.S. Sangiovannese Napoli
25th 1949 Giovanni Cultrone  ? S.S. Fiamma Vittoria
26th 1950 Giovanni Cultrone  ? S.S. Fiamma Vittoria
27th 1951 Pietro Balistreri 39:45 Corpo VV.FF. Palermo
28th 1952 Antonino Calderone  ? C.A.S. Termini Imerese
29th 1953 Antonino Calderone  ? C.A.S. Termini Imerese
30th 1954 Domenico Cappuccio  ? C.S.I. Maurolico Messina
31st 1955 Giovanni Cultrone  ? U.S. Fiamma Vittoria
32nd 1956 Stefano Bucolo  ? Alt. Falcone Novara
33rd 1957 Carmelo Di Stefano 40:55 C.S.I. Messina
— 1958 Not held
34th 1959 Tommaso Assi 38:17 C.S. Ass. Generali Palermo
35th 1960 Mario Longo  ? Libertas Catania
36th 1961 Stefano Bucolo 38:27 Alt. Falcone Novara
37th 1962 Felice Scotto 38:13 U.S. Polimeni Reggio Calabria
38th 1963 Antonino Buffa 41:09 Libertas Catania
39th 1964 Francesco Sabatino 38:11 Libertas Catania
40th 1965 Benedetto Mastroieni 37:42 Telestar Palermo
41st 1966 Giuseppe Ardizzone 37:06 Mongibello Catania
42nd 1967 Benedetto Mastroieni 39:00 Corpo VV.FF. Palermo
43rd 1968 Francesco Amante 37:00 Libertas Catania
44th 1969 Vito Riolo 36:40 Libertas Catania
45th 1970 Gioacchino De Palma 36:12 CUS Bari
46th 1971 Francesco Amante 36:17 CUS Torino
47th 1972 Francesco Amante 36:21 CUS Torino
48th 1973 Giuseppe Ardizzone 35:38 S.S. Alco Rieti
49th 1974 Michelangelo Arena 34:45 Polisportiva Atletica Palermo
50th 1975 Paolo Accaputo 34:54 Fiamme Gialle Roma
51st 1976 Luigi Zarcone 34:27 CUS Palermo
52nd 1977 Franco Fava 34:10 Fiamme Gialle Roma
53rd 1978 Venanzio Ortis 34:22 Fiamme Oro Padova
54th 1979 Orlando Pizzolato 34:40 Lemar Schio
55th 1980 Claudio Solone 33:45 Carabinieri Bologna
56th 1981 Claudio Solone 33:46 Carabinieri Bologna
57th 1982 Michelangelo Arena 34:07 Fiamme Gialle Roma
58th 1983 Orlando Pizzolato 34:50 Champion Ferrara
59th 1984 Orlando Pizzolato 33:34 Champion Ferrara
60th 1985 Salvatore Nicosia 33:56 Fiamme Gialle Roma
61st 1986 Salvatore Nicosia 34:03 Fiamme Gialle Roma
62nd 1987 Gelindo Bordin 33:27 Alitrans Verona
63rd 1988 Gelindo Bordin 33:27 Alitrans Verona
64th 1989 Salvatore Bettiol 32:45 CUS Ferrara

International era

Key:       Course record       10 km course       4.5 km course

Edition Year Men's winner Time (m:s) Women's winner Time (m:s)
65th 1990  Jonah Koech (KEN) 33:27 Not held
66th 1991  Boay Akonay (TAN) 33:11
67th 1992  Jonah Koech (KEN) 32:49
68th 1993  Joseph Cheromei (KEN) 32:36
69th 1994  Paul Tergat (KEN) 32:37
70th 1995  Germán Silva (MEX) 32:56  Maria Curatolo (ITA) 14:37
71st 1996  William Kiptum (KEN) 33:23  Florence Barsosio (KEN) 18:43
72nd 1997  David Chelule (KEN) 32:35  Florence Barsosio (KEN) 18:41
73rd 1998  Khalid Khannouchi (MAR) 33:17  Agata Balsamo (ITA) 18:57
74th 1999  Hendrick Ramaala (RSA) 33:05  Gloria Marconi (ITA) 19:07
75th 2000  Benson Barus (KEN) 33:23  Silvia Sommaggio (ITA) 18:27
76th 2001  Benson Barus (KEN) 33:01  Daniela Rodica (FRA) 18:11
77th 2002  Benson Barus (KEN) 34:21  Nadia Ejjafini (MAR) 19:13
78th 2003  Paul Tergat (KEN) 34:28  Merima Denboba (ETH) 19:03
79th 2004  Martin Lel (KEN) 33:46  Margaret Okayo (KEN) 18:54
80th 2005  Wilson Kebenei (KEN) 34:25 Not held
81st 2006  Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot (KEN) 35:14
82nd 2007  José Manuel Martínez (ESP) 34:19
83rd 2008  Ibrahim Jeilan (ETH) 34:44
84th 2009  Vincent Kipruto (KEN) 34:02
85th 2010  Zersenay Tadese (ERI) 34:20
86th 2011  Geoffrey Mutai (KEN) 29:05

See also

References

  1. ^ Zorzi, Alberto (2004-07-29). Lel and Okayo triumph in Castelbuono. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-08-08.
  2. ^ Torna il Giro Podistico di Bisceglie, la corsa più antica d’Italia (Italian). FIDAL (2009-07-22). Retrieved on 2010-08-08.
  3. ^ Castellini, Ottavio (2007-07-24). Castelbuono: 95-years-on and still taking the breath away. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-08-08.
  4. ^ Castellini, Ottavio (2009-07-24). Martinez takes on African charge in Castelbuono - Preview. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-08-08.
  5. ^ a b Storia Del Giro (Italian). Giro di Castelbuono. Retrieved on 2010-08-08.
  6. ^ Sampaolo, Diego (2011-07-27). Geoffrey Mutai dominates in Castelbuono. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-07-30.
  7. ^ Il percorso (The Course) (Italian). Giro di Castelbuono. Retrieved on 2010-08-08.
  8. ^ Zorzi, Alberto (2008-07-26). Jeilan powers to victory in Castelbuono. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-08-08.
  9. ^ Monti, Dave & Civai, Franco (2010-07-27). La Corsa Piu' Antica 11.2 km (M) and 5.6 km (F). Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2010-08-08.
List of winners

Further reading

External links