The talented athlete from the Oxyburn Team takes third place on the podium at the 42k Lagoon Race, one of Italy’s most popular and fascinating races

“Go Ivana! Way to go, Ivana!” That’s what echoed through San Giuliano Park in Mestre yesterday, Sunday, October 23, as Ivana Iozzia—former Italian marathon champion and star athlete of Team Oxyburn— ran past. Cheering her on—in a preview of the festivities—were spectators, volunteers, and… law enforcement officers, all crowded along the sides of the course laid out within Mestre’s beautiful park!

It was fantastic to watch Ivana run through the Expo area live, her gaze fixed on the finish line—still 10k away— as she charged down the course with long strides. It was great to hear the cheers from a very young soldier who, calling her by name, applauded her as if she were a soccer player… Not to mention the stretch through St. Mark’s Square and the finish line, where two lines of spectators had been applauding every single 10K runner who crossed the finish line for more than two hours…

42k of pure excitement and celebration! That’s exactly what Ivana Iozzia gave all the spectators at yesterday’s 31st Venicemarathon: in the end, she finished third with a time of 2h37’03”, 17th overall, first among Italian runners, and first in the SF40 age group: “I’m satisfied, even though I was hoping for a better time,” Ivana said after the race. “Unfortunately, starting at the 15th kilometer, I ran completely alone, and in Venice—even more so than in any other marathon—that really holds you back. The second half of the race is very tough; having someone to follow or to spur me on would have been important—I think it would have shaved at least two minutes off my time. Who knows, maybe I would have caught up to and passed the runner in second place, thereby moving up a spot in the rankings.”

The sports community across Italy has sent its congratulations, giving her a well-deserved standing ovation—and Oxyburn joins in the praise .