DA SILVA WINS PAN AM GAMES WOMEN'S MARATHON
By David Monti
(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

(23-Oct) -- Brazil's Adriana Aparecida Da Silva won the women's marathon minutes ago in Guadalajara, Mexico, on the first day of athletics competition of the 15th Pan Am Games.  She clocked a respectable time of 2:36:37, considering Guadalajara's high elevation (1586m/5200 ft.) and the sunny and warm conditions.

Da Silva ran in second place for most of the 42.195 kilometer course behind Mexico's Madai Perez, the fastest woman in the field with a 2:22:59 personal best.  Indeed, at the 20-kilometer mark, Perez had a two minute lead on Da Silva and appeared to have the late afternoon race under control.

But in the second half, the Mexican record holder slowed.  With the race clock showing 2:21:57 (at about the 38-K mark), Da Silva passed Perez despite the repeated chants of "Mexico-Mexico" coming from the partisan fans who lined the roadway.  By the 40-K point, Da Silva had already built a 36 second lead, and Perez had to settle for second in 2:38:03.  Nonetheless, today's medal for Perez, 31, was her first in an international championships.

Behind the two leaders, Gladys Tejeda, 26, of Peru, that nation's national record holder, got the bronze medal in 2:42:10.

For Da Silva, 30, today's race provided her second important title of the year.  She also won the South American Half-Marathon Championships in Buenos Aires on Sept. 11.