PRESS RELEASE
Athens 29 August 2024
On 28 September 2024 the 42nd SPARTATHLON starts – Zissimopoulos & Herron at the start line of the historic race
In exactly one month, and more specifically on Saturday morning, September 28th, under the Sacred Rock of the Acropolis, the 42nd SPARTATHLON will start, with the participation of 400 super-athletes from 55 countries of the world! Among them, some of the biggest names in the world of ultra-distance running, who starred in the World Championships last year, such as the Greek Champion and last year’s winner of the race, Fotis Zissimopoulos, and the American World Champion and World Record holder, Camille Herron! Among them at the start of the 42nd Spartathlon and 50 Greek athletes who will overcome their limits along the 246km route, a distance that starts from the city of Athens and ends at the statue of “King Leonidas” in the city of Sparta.
The responsibility for the organisation of the historic race lies with the International Spartathlon Association, which for four decades has been ensuring its uninterrupted organisation.
The Spartathlon International Race follows closely in the footsteps of the ancient Hmerodromos Pheidippides, who in 490 BC ran over the “same” distance in order to ask for help from the Spartans for the battle that the Greeks were fighting against the Persians!
The safety of all athletes competing in the difficult 36-hour race, as every year, is at the forefront! Thanks to the use of modern technology, special emphasis was given to the continuous and live monitoring of the course of all runners within the race route, through a special GPS chip (tracking device) to avoid any mischief that may be created in the course of all!
More technical details about the route and marking of this year’s 42nd SPARTATHLON, will be analyzed in the next Press Release, by the Technical Director of the race Mr. Panagiotis Bonelis, who is actually on a daily basis, on the route of the race, taking care of the smooth organization of the race.
Worth mentioning, this year’s original initiative of support of the International Association SPARTATHLON, to the National Youth and Junior Handball teams of the Greek Handball Federation, during their participation in the European Championships, where they competed with the logo of SPARTATHLON on their uniforms.
The President of the International Spartathlon Association Mr. Vangelis Polymeris said: I welcome to Greece all the great runners from all over the world, as well as the 55 Greek athletes, who will be at the start of the 42nd SPARTATHLON on Saturday 28 September at 07:00 in the morning. The International Association never stops improving in order to keep the future of the historic race stable and viable. After all, this is the vision of all the members of the SPARTATHLON Board.
For the Press Office
Pantelis Tzergevelis
