ATHLETICS – Egbert Zijlstra from Emmen has won gold in the half marathon for athletes over the age of seventy during the World Masters Athletics. In Tampere, Finland, Zijlstra ran to a time of 1.26.22.
The World Masters Athletics (WMA) is an athletics tournament where the best 35+ athletes from around the world compete. There are competitions for ascending age categories in various disciplines. De Emmenaar was the best in the category 70 to 75 years. He was almost three minutes faster than Australian No. 2 Yassine Belaabed.
The oldest participant in the competition was the Italian Angelo Squadrone, the 93-year-old Italian ran the 21.1 kilometers in just under 3.5 hours.
His trainer Henk Hartman is not surprised that Zijlstra took off with the title in the 70+ category. “I secretly expected it a bit. You could assume it based on best seasons. But it still has to happen,” says his trainer happily. “Recently he ran a half marathon in 1.27, that was a snack. So in terms of time he stood out.”