SPAIN. Barcelona: Eric Domingo (28) and Silvia Roldan have beaten the Guinness record at the Zurich Marató in Barcelona on October 7, 2021. The Spanish athlete crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 53 minutes, and 28 seconds, pushing his mother with multiple sclerosis in her wheelchair. As many as 15,000 runners from 120 countries participated in this 42nd edition of the marathon competition.
The Marató de Barcelona was culminated by the male Kenyan athlete Samuel Gospei (2h06m03s) and the female Ethiopian athlete Tadu Teshome (2h23m53s, 20 years old). The winner in the wheelchair category became the Paralympic athlete from Les Franqueses del Vallès Jordi Madera (41).
Eric ran pushing his mother’s wheelchair to bring more visibility to multiple sclerosis for the dire stretch of 42 kilometers (26 miles). His speed averaged 4:07 per km or 6:37 per mile, which is undoubtedly impressive.
Eric Domingo also organized a crowdfunding campaign #42kmcorriEMdo on the migranodearena.org platform to raise 3,000 euros for the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (Fundació Esclerosi Múltiple) to help advance research into the disease.
Everything happens for a reason
Eric Domingo and his mother have run four marathons together. They have already tried to break this record in Seville in 2020 but finished two minutes after the required time. Eric said that his mother almost died in August from covid19 and that he is grateful for her strength and will to live. Probably the promise of breaking the record kept her spirit attached to the goal. Probably failing in 2020 helped Silvia overcome the virus and fight to make history.
Fulfilling a dream “at home”
Eric’s 58-year-old mother was diagnosed 21 ago when he was 7. He started competing to bring more visibility to his mother’s disease in 2016 and currently holds the two best times of the Zurich Marató in Barcelona and now the Guinness World record for finishing under 3 hours, pushing a wheelchair.
“We have fulfilled a dream. I promised my mother that we would make the Guinness record, and we have achieved it together,” explained Domingo after crossing the finish line. Giving an emotional hug to his mother, he said that the win “happened in a hard time, but she always smiles and fights.”
“Today is the happiest day of my life. We have achieved it and at home. Thank you all,” added the excited Silvia Roldán.
Eric run accompanied by his friends from Asics, the sports brand for which he races and with whom he has almost formed a family.
About multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, neurodegenerative disease with no cure, and it occurs more in women than in men. MS is one of the most common neurological diseases among young people between the ages of 20 and 40 and the second leading cause of disability in developed countries.
What’s next
A new Marató de Barcelona will take place in six months as the event returns to the initial April 3 date. Registrations are already open.
