Star shines in Sydney Marathon

Topnotch lawyer Estrella “Star” Elamparo made a lot of heads turn as she joined other Filipinos who crossed the finish line of the TCS Sydeny Marathon at the Sydney Opera House in Australia on Sunday.

Elamparo, a DAILY TRIBUNE columnist, cleared the 42-kilometer run in four hours, 43 minutes and 54 seconds to emerge as among the Filipino finishers of this prestigious annual road race. She also shone in the five-kilometer mini-marathon with 29:13.

The Sydney Marathon is just one of over 40 races that Elamparo had conquered.

Prior to that, the seasoned lawyer had already seen action in five world majors, including the Tokyo Marathon, London Marathon, Berlin Marathon, Chicago Marathon and New York Marathon.

“I may not have the platform, but I have my miles. And I’ll use every one of the to carry these causes forward,” said Elamparo, who made an impact with her “Free Palestine” shirt while expressing gratitude to the support of her running club, WeKenRun.

“Sydney, you were tough — but thank you for the solidarity.”

Aside from Elamparo, also crossing the fish line of this event that drew the participation of around 35,000 runners around the world were former Milo Marathon winners Richard Salaño and Christine Hallasgo.

Salaño checked in after 2:26:48 hours and beecame the fastest Southeast Asian finisher in the one of the most prestigious marathons in the world.

Hallasgo, a three-time Southeast Asian Games medalist, finished with a time of 2:26:48 in the tournament ruled by Paris Olympics gold medalist Hailemaryam Kiros of Ethiopia, who blew the men’s field with a time of 2:06:06, and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, who won the women’s category with 2:18:22.

Both Salaño and Hallasgo are using the competition as part of her preparation for the biennial meet this December in Thailand.