By Matthew Roscoe • Updated: 04 Oct 2022 • 18:24
WATCH: Spanish marathon runner takes 28 seconds to cross the finish line and claim victory in Valencia. Image: @apuntesports/Twitter
Marathon runner Luis Ángel Escriche reached the finish line of the half marathon in Valencia over the weekend way ahead of the rest of the field and decided to wait nearly 30 seconds before crossing the finishing line and claiming victory.
The reason? To avoid beating the race record by too much.
Escriche claimed a €150 bonus for beating the course record for the ‘Mitja del Kaki’ race and according to local media reports, the runner did not want to beat the course record by too much because he wants to scoop the prize money next year by beating the record again!
👀 Atenció a aquest moment que ha fet sofrir fins i tot a @xaviblasco 🏃 L'ha protagonitzada el guanyador de la Mitja Marató del Caqui de l'Alcúdia. Quan anava a creuar la meta, Luis Agustin Escriche, es frena en sec. 📺 Vols saber l'explicació? No et perdes l'@apuntnoticies pic.twitter.com/Mnci5pHmuw — À Punt Esports (@apuntesports) October 2, 2022
👀 Atenció a aquest moment que ha fet sofrir fins i tot a @xaviblasco
🏃 L'ha protagonitzada el guanyador de la Mitja Marató del Caqui de l'Alcúdia. Quan anava a creuar la meta, Luis Agustin Escriche, es frena en sec.
📺 Vols saber l'explicació? No et perdes l'@apuntnoticies pic.twitter.com/Mnci5pHmuw
— À Punt Esports (@apuntesports) October 2, 2022
Luis’ strategy raised some criticism, however, he told apuntmedia.es, that “everyone can think what they want.”
He did admit that the image of him standing at the finish line for so long could be seen as disrespectful and acknowledged that maybe he should have passed the finish line sooner.
The viral video of the Spanish marathon runner in Valencia comes after a goal at a Spanish football match also went viral on social media.
A wonder strike from Algeciras player Tomás on Sunday, October 2 went viral.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Share this story
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don't already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Originally from the UK, Matthew is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Download our media pack in either English or Spanish.