More than 100 athletes started the Olympic marathon, in which the Lanzarote native José Carlos Hernández participated, playing a great role. Along with him, two other Spaniards were among those chosen to compete in this race, which covered just over 42 kilometers through the streets of London.
At kilometer 5, Hernández was in 58th place, ten seconds behind the leader of the race.
After half an hour of the race, Hernández had managed to climb six positions, moving to number 52, and even overtaking another of the Spaniards, Ignacio Cáceres. The other Spaniard, Carles Castillejo, was in position 37. The race was led by two Kenyans and an Ethiopian.
At the 15 kilometer mark, José Carlos Hernández had lost two positions, moving to 54th place, and being overtaken again by the Spaniard Ignacio Cáceres. Two runners (one from Latvia and another from the United States) had already withdrawn from the race.
Having reached the middle of the race, Hernández gained a position again, staying in 53rd, although he fell back shortly after to 54th and later to 55th. The best placed Spaniard was Carles Castillejo, who after the halfway point of the race had climbed to 30th place.
Hernández's hopes were pinned on the final stretch of the race. Before the race, he had stated that he intended to conserve his strength and be able to climb positions at the end. His family hoped to see him among the top 40, and Hernández himself had set a goal of being among the top 20.
After an hour and a half of racing, six athletes had already withdrawn from the competition.
At kilometer 30, José Carlos Hernández was in 55th place, six minutes behind the leader. The Spaniard Carles Castillejo was in 29th place and Ignacio Cáceres had climbed to 47th.
After an hour and 40 minutes of running, Hernández began to climb, reaching 51st place. Castillejo had risen to 41st, and there were already nine retirements in the race.
In the final stretch of the race, in which there were significant changes at the head, which came to be led by a Ugandan, the Lanzarote athlete had cut another two places, managing to place himself in 49th, his best position up to that moment. At that point in the race, 15 athletes had had to abandon the race.
The Ugandan Stephen Kiprotich crossed the finish line at 2 hours, 8 minutes and 1 second after the start of the race, taking the gold medal and becoming the great surprise of the event. Then the Kenyans Kurui (silver) and Wilson Kiprotich (bronze) crossed, who led the race for almost the entire route. José Carlos Hernández continued running with greater intensity and began to climb positions.
After a spectacular comeback, Hernández crossed the finish line in 34th place,
with a time of 2 hours, 17 minutes and 48 seconds.
The best Spaniard was Carles Castillejo, who came in 24th place, and then Ignacio Cáceres, in 31st, only 37 seconds behind José Carlos Hernández. Of the 105 athletes who started, only 85 managed to complete the race.
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