It was a wonderful edition for several reasons – for example not only because the race was sold out but was celebrating its tenth edition as well – and Challenge Florianópolis was given extra sparkle by the great performances of Felipe Marmo Gomes Santos and Bruna Carolina De Azevedo Stolf. Both professional athletes won the race with minutes to spare.
Under beautiful conditions – the temperature was fine by Brazilian standards and there was little wind – a small but strong pro field took off to battle each other. That battle was thus won by Felipe Marmo Gomes Santos, who crossed the finish line after 3:48:07. He did so in tears of joy. After his finish, he had quite some time to give his emotions a place, as Joshua Berles finished second in a time of 3:56:06. Bruno Pereira Matheus, who finished third, also broke the always impressive barriere of four hours and finished in a time of 3:58:44.
In the women’s race, then, the win went to Bruna Carolina De Azevedo Stolf: she also crossed the finish line full of joy and won Challenge Florianópolis in a time of 4:30:58. Second athlete who crossed the finish line was Luma Maruci Guillen; she stopped the clock after 4:35:25. Fernanda Penkal De Souza finished third in 4:45:49, completing the podium and taking home the bronze trophy.
For Challenge Florianópolis it was the tenth edition: for a decade the race has been one of the biggest triathlons in Brazil and it is an indispensable race on the national calendar. This year Challenge Florianópolis was once again sold out, with about 1,500 athletes at the start of the Middle Distance and Sprint Distance combined.
