This is what the winners of the 49th BOclassic South Tyrol say

For the first time an Italian victory for women since 1988, plus a new course record for men – there was a lot going on at the Bolzano New Year's Eve Run on Sunday.

01 January 2024

From: spn

We have the voices of the protagonists of this one memorable day dedicated to athletics captured.

Sabastian Saw (Kenya/winner elite race men): “I am extremely pleased with this victory. It was a cool race and I felt really comfortable in Bolzano. To be honest, I thought I could break the course record. It was a fast race and Yeman (Crippa, editor's note)) held on until the end.”

Yeman Crippa (Italy/2nd place): “It was a really great race today and it went really well – it’s a shame that it wasn’t enough to win in the end. I gave it my all until the end and tried to stay on Sawe's heels. But he's not the half marathon world champion for nothing, so it was to be expected that he might have a few more grains than me. But I'm very happy, I tried to give it my all and I succeeded. I ended 2023 with a strong performance, now I'm looking forward to the new year with the Summer Olympics in Paris and before that the European Athletics Championships in Rome."

Nadia Battocletti (Italy/winner): “Of course I’m over the moon that I managed to win here. I heard the cheers of countless people along the route and that's why I would like to dedicate this victory to you, the Bolzano fans. I got really warm during the race. When I took off my gloves on the penultimate loop, it was a kind of wake-up call to step up my game. Just like a car that really accelerates when overtaking. I wish you a good start into the new year!”

Giovanna Selva (Italy/4th place): "I am very glad. I wanted to do a kind of test today, so I stuck with the favorites at the beginning. I was able to maintain the enormous pace for two laps, then I had to stop and continue running alone. But I’m still very happy with how everything went, because the pace was already very high.”