Valeria Straneo

Valeria Straneo came onto the marathon scene late in life after having two children and the removal of her spleen in 2010. She was 35 years of age when she finished eighth in the 2011 Berlin Marathon (2-26:33) and a year later set the national record of 2-23:44 at the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon. A two-time Olympian, Straneo made her début at the 2012 Olympic Games in London where she finished seventh in 2-25:27 and four years later at Rio 2016, at the age of 40, she was 13th in 2-29:44. The highlight of Straneo’s career came at the 2013 World Championships in Moskva where, after leading most of the marathon race, she won the silver medal behind Kenya’s Edna Kiplagat, the defending champion and winner of marathons in 2010 at New York and Los Angeles.

Straneo won two national championships. She competed at the 2011 European Cross-Country Championships and had half-marathon titles at the 2013 Mediterranean Games and the Rock’n’Roll Marathon in Lisboa, and finished second at the 2014 European Championships in Zürich. Born in northern Italy in 1976, Straneo was coached by Beatrice Brossa.

Personal Best: Mar – 2-23:44 (2012)