Saint Silvester Road Race

The Saint Silvester Marathon is the oldest and most prestigious street race in Brazil.

Regarded as the main international event in Latin American athletics, the marathon is held yearly in the city of São Paulo on December 31. This day is Saint Silvester's Day, as it is the day in which the Catholic saint, who was a Pope, died in the 4th century of the Christian Era.

Although it is named a marathon, the course is only 15 km (9.3 miles) long, less than half the length of a marathon. For this reason, the Organizing Committee has been referring to the event as "The Saint Silvester Race", thus avoiding the word "marathon". Tradition and force of habit still dictates the traditional name, and many people, as well as part of the media, continue to refer to it as the "Saint Silvester Marathon". No direct effort has been made to correct the nomenclature of the race.

The race is made more difficult by the intense heat of the Brazilian summer and the geographical obstacles that have to be surmounted by the athletes. Dehydration and heat stroke, among others, are not uncommon for both annon runners and international stars (albeit much more common amidst amateurs).

History

Cásper Líbero, a "media millionaire" of the early 20th century Brazil, is credited with originally coming up with the idea for the race. He used it as a means of promoting his newspaper. In 1928, the year of the race's 4th edition, he founded one of the first sports newspapers of the country, the "Gazeta Esportiva" (the "Sportive Gazette"), which then became the race's official organizer and sponsor. The race would be the main advertising element of this sports newspaper.

The marathon was held for the first time on December 31, 1925, which makes it 80 years old as of 2004. An interesting fact is that, unlike most events as old or older, it has not been interrupted or suspended even once during its history (and the year 2004 will have seen its 80th edition), not even for the duration of WWII.

Originally, it was intended for men only, and participation was restricted to citizens of the city of São Paulo. In the following years, runners from other parts of the country joined the race, but it was not until 1941 that a runner not from the city of São Paulo won the race: José Tibúrcio dos Santos, of Minas Gerais, another Brazilian state. At that time, the event was not yet open to foreign participation. That meant that athletes from other countries could not come in to participate, but foreigners residing in the city of São Paulo (immigrants) were free to enroll. Because of this, Italian Heitor Blasi was the only foreigner to have won the race before 1947.

In 1945 the field was opened so that foreign runners could participate. The first international race was restricted to invited runners from South America, but the success of the first two "international events" led race organizers to open the event to the rest of the world in 1947. That year marked the beginning of a 34-year-long period during which no Brazilian man won the event, until José João da Silva, from Pernambuco, won in 1980 (he would repeat the feat in 1985).

The event would remain a men-only affair until 1975, when the United Nations declared that year as the International Year of Women. In commemoration of this, the race organizers held the women's race for the first time. The women's race started as an open event, and the first Brazilian victory would come only in its 20th edition (in 1995), when Carmem Oliveira won.

In 1993, the first marathon for children was held (dubbed "São Silvestrinha", or "Little Saint Silvester"  a unisex event).

Until 1988, the race took place at night, approaching the New Year's, but the year of 1989 saw substantial changes in the race's format, in order to comply with the rules of the IAAF. The time of the race was altered (to 3:00 p.m. for women and 5:00 p.m. for men), the course direction was reversed, and men and women, who used to run together, had their races separated. In 1991, the length of the race was extended to 15,000 meters (the distance for the event used to vary almost yearly, usually between 6.5 km and 8.8 km). This variance needed to be corrected in order to meet the requirements of the Federation of Athletics. The Marathon was recognized internationally in that year of 1989.

Growth and prestige

For the first race, in 1925, 60 people filled applications to participate, but only 48 actually showed up on the day of the race. Of these, only 37 were officially qualified, since the rules then required that all runners had to finish within 3 minutes of the winner in order to qualify in the final board.

In 2004, 13,000 men and 2,000 women participated in their respective events.

Although the event had been open since 1945, it would become a noteworthy affair in the international calendar only in 1953, when the most famous runner of the time (and arguably of all time), Emil Zatopek, participated and won the race. In recent times, the foremost long distance runners of the last two decades (almost all of them, with the exception of Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia) have participated at least once in the event.

The principal winner of all times is now Paul Tergat, of Kenya, who has won the race 5 times (1995, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000). He also holds the record time for the present distance of 15 km, having won his very first race in São Paulo with a time of 43 minutes and 12 seconds.

Winning this event usually represents instant fame in Brazil. Accordingly, Tergat is one of the most recognized African personalities in the country, second only to Nelson Mandela.

Champions

Men

National Era

Year	Athlete	Country	Time	Distance
1925	Alfredo Gomes	Brazil	33min21s	8.8 km
1926	Jorge Mancebo	Brazil	22m35s3	6.2 km
1927	Heitor Blasi	Italy	23min	6.2 km
1928	Salim Maluf	Brazil	29m11s2	6.2 km
1929	Heitor Blasi	Italy	28min39s2	8.8 km
1930	Murilo de Araújo	Brazil	25min35s2	8.8 km
1931	José Agnello	Brazil	26min05s3	8.8 km
1932	Nestor Gomes	Brazil	25min23s02	8.8 km
1933	Nestor Gomes	Brazil	23min50s06	8.8 km
1934	Alfredo Carletti	Brazil	24min10s2	7.6 km
1935	Nestor Gomes	Brazil	N/A	7.6 km
1936	Mario de Oliveira	Brazil	23min38s04	7.6 km
1937	Mario de Oliveira	Brazil	N/A	7.6 km
1938	Armando Martins	Brazil	23m38s4	7.6 km
1939	Luiz Del Greco	Brazil	24m50s4	7.5 km
1940	Antônio Alves	Brazil	22m14s	7 km
1941	José Tibúrcio dos Santos	Brazil	22min12s	7 km
1942	Joaquim Gonçalves da Silva	Brazil	17min02s06	5.5 km
1943	Joaquim Gonçalves da Silva	Brazil	N/A	5.5 km
1944	Joaquim Gonçalves da Silva	Brazil	17min40s02	5.5 km

International Era

Year	Athlete	Country	Time	Distance
1945	Sebastião Alves Monteiro	Brazil	21min54s	7 km
1946	Sebastião Alves Monteiro	Brazil	21min57s	7 km
1947	Oscar Moreira	Uruguay	21min45s	7 km
1948	Raul Inostroza	Chile	22min18s2	7 km
1949	Viljo Heino	Finland	22min45s	7.3 km
1950	Lucien Theys	Belgium	22min37s8	7.3 km
1951	Erik Krucziky	Federal Republic of Germany	22min26s5	7.3 km
1952	Franjo Mihalic	Yugoslavia	21min38s	7.3 km
1953	Emil Zatopek	Czechoslovakia	20min30s	7.3 km
1954	Franjo Mihalic	Yugoslavia	23min	7.3 km
1955	Kenneth Norris	Great Britain	22min18s	7.4 km
1956	Manoel Faria	Portugal	21min58s9	7.4 km
1957	Manoel Faria	Portugal	21min37s4	7.4 km
1958	Osvaldo Suarez	Argentina	21min40s3	7.4 km
1959	Osvaldo Suarez	Argentina	21min55s8	7.4 km
1960	Osvaldo Suarez	Argentina	22min2s1	7.4 km
1961	Martin Hyman	Great Britain	21min24s7	7.4 km
1962	Hamoud Ameur	France	22min08s5	7.4 km
1963	Henry Clerckx	Belgium	N/A	7.4 km
1964	Gaston Roelants	Belgium	21min37s7	7.4 km
1965	Gaston Roelants	Belgium	21min20s1	7.4 km
1966	Alvaro Mejia Flores	Colombia	29min57s7	9.2 km
1967	Gaston Roelants	Belgium	24min55s	8.7 km
1968	Gaston Roelants	Belgium	24min32s	8.7 km
1969	Juan Martinez	Mexico	24min02s3	8.7 km
1970	Frank Shorter	United States	24min27s4	8.9 km
1971	Rafael Tadeo Palomares	Mexico	23min47s8	8.7 km
1972	Victor Mora	Colombia	23min24s2	8.7 km
1973	Victor Mora	Colombia	23min25s	8.7 km
1974	Rafael Angel Perez	Costa Rica	23min58s	8.9 km
1975	Victor Mora	Colombia	23min13s	8.9 km
1976	Edmundo Warnke	Chile	23min50s8	8.9 km
1977	Domingo Tibaduiza	Colombia	23min55s	8.9 km
1978	Radhouane Bouster	France	23min51s6	8.9 km
1979	Herb Lindsay	United States	23min26s5	8.9 km
1980	José João da Silva	Brazil	23min40s	8.9 km
1981	Victor Mora	Colombia	23min30s2	8.9 km
1982	Carlos Lopes	Portugal	39min41s05	13.548 km
1983	João da Mata	Brazil	37min39s19	12.6 km
1984	Carlos Lopes	Portugal	36min43s79	12.6 km
1985	José João da Silva	Brazil	N/A	12.6 km
1986	Rolando Vera	Ecuador	36min45s	12.640 km
1987	Rolando Vera	Ecuador	39min02s56	13.040 km
1988	Rolando Vera	Ecuador	36min23s	13.040 km
1989	Rolando Vera	Ecuador	36min45s	13.040 km
1990	Arturo Barrios	Mexico	35min57s	12.640 km
1991	Arturo Barrios	Mexico	44min47s	15 km
1992	Simon Chemwoyo	Kenya	44min08s	15 km
1993	Simon Chemwoyo	Kenya	43min20s	15 km
1994	Ronaldo da Costa	Brazil	44min11s	15 km
1995	Paul Tergat	Kenya	43min12s*	15 km
1996	Paul Tergat	Kenya	N/A	15 km
1997	Émerson Iser Bem	Brazil	44min40s	15 km
1998	Paul Tergat	Kenya	44min47s	15 km
1999	Paul Tergat	Kenya	44min35s	15 km
2000	Paul Tergat	Kenya	43min57s	15 km
2001	Tesfaye Jifar	Ethiopia	44min15s	15 km
2002	Robert Cheruiyot	Kenya	44min59s	15 km
2003	Marílson Gomes dos Santos	Brazil	43min50s	15 km
2004	Robert Cheruiyot	Kenya	44min43s	15 km
2005	Marílson Gomes dos Santos	Brazil	44min21s	15 km

* Record for the present distance of 15 Kilometers.

Women

Year	Athlete	Country	Time	Distance
1975	Christa Valensieck	Federal Republic of Germany	28min39s	8.9 km
1976	Christa Valensieck	Federal Republic of Germany	28min36s02	8.9 km
1977	Loa Olafsson	Denmark	27min15s	8.9 km
1978	Dana Slater	United States	N/A	8.9 km
1979	Dana Slater	United States	29min07s5	8.9 km
1980	Heide Hutterer	Federal Republic of Germany	27min48s4	8.9 km
1981	Rosa Mota	Portugal	26min45s8	8.9 km
1982	Rosa Mota	Portugal	47min21s	13 km
1983	Rosa Mota	Portugal	43min41s59	12 km
1984	Rosa Mota	Portugal	43min35s57	12 km
1985	Rosa Mota	Portugal	43min00s85	12 km
1986	Rosa Mota	Portugal	43min25s	12 km
1987	Martha Thenório	Ecuador	46min27s	13 km
1988	Aurora Cunha	Portugal	42min12s7	12.640 km
1989	Maria Del Carmen Diaz	Mexico	43min52s	12.640 km
1990	Maria Del Carmen Diaz	Mexico	N/A	12.640 km
1991	Maria Luisa Servin	Mexico	54min02s	15 km
1992	Maria Del Carmen Diaz	Mexico	43min52s	12.640 km
1993	Hellen Kimayio	Kenya	50min26s*	15 km
1994	Derartu Tulu	Ethiopia	51min17s	15 km
1995	Carmem Oliveira	Brazil	50min53s	15 km
1996	Roseli Machado	Brazil	52min32s	15 km
1997	Martha Thenório	Ecuador	52min04s	15 km
1998	Olivera Jevtic	Yugoslavia	51min35s	15 km
1999	Lydia Cheromei	Kenya	51min29s	15 km
2000	Lydia Cheromei	Kenya	50min33s	15 km
2001	Maria Zeferina Baldaia	Brazil	52min12s	15 km
2002	Marizete de Paula Rezende	Brazil	54min02s	15 km
2003	Margaret Okayo	Kenya	51min24s	15 km
2004	Lydia Cheromei	Kenya	53min01s	15 km
2005	Olivera Jevtic	Serbia and Montenegro	51min38s	15 km