Fotis Zisimopoulos broke a massive record in Greece’s running history on Saturday by surpassing Yiannis Kouros’ 1984 record in the Spartathlon, Ekathimerini reports.
The 41-year-old completed the 246 km legendary race that links Athens to Sparta in 19 hours, 55 minutes, and 2 seconds. Kouros held the record for completing the race in 20 hours and 25 minutes.
Zisimopoulos competed amongst 380 participants from 50 countries. Saturday’s victory marks Zisimopoulos’ third consecutive win in the Spartathlon.
To honour his record-breaking win, Zisimopoulos received an olive wreath and took a sip of water from the nearby Evrotas River, which is a tradition for all finishers of the Spartathlon race.
The Spartathlon race re-traces the legendary journey of the ancient Greek messenger Pheidippides, who was famous for running from Marathon to Athens to deliver news of a Greek victory over the Persians in 490 BC.
Source: Ekathimerini.
