Costa wins Disney World Marathon for 7th time, Martins takes 4th woman’s title

If the names of the winners for the 2019 Walt Disney World Marathon sound familiar, well, they should. Fredison Costa and Giovanna Martins are repeat winners of the male and female divisions.

Costa, a native of Brazil who now lives in Kissimmee took his seventh Disney Marathon victory. He is now one shy of Adriano Bastos’ record of eight wins. Martins of Salto, Brazil, is the first woman to win four Disney marathon titles, including the last three in a row.

Costa posted a time of 2:18:45, far off the race record of 2:11:50, but well ahead of second-place finisher Nick Hilton (2:21:48), the Flagstaff, Arizona runner who won the race a year ago, and Jose Lima of Brazil (2:26:40), who was third.

“I’ve been through hard times this year, so it felt great that this was the seventh time I was the winner,” Costa said. “I feel like I’m challenging myself again.”

Martins crossed the finish line in 2:45:24 – more than two minutes ahead of Antonia Lins Da Silva of Fortaleza, Brazil, who was second (2:47:36) and Nancy Jurgens of Apex, North Carolina who was third (2:50:39).

“Every time I see the ‘Where Dreams Come True’ sign (at Walt Disney World Resort), it’s impossible to not get emotional,” Martins said. “Running and winning these races at Walt Disney World truly is a dream come true.”

Now, in its 26th year, the Disney marathon weekend has evolved into a multi-race event with more than 100,000 runners and spectators, representing 73 countries around the world. The marathon capped a weekend of races that included a 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon, runDisney Kids Races, and the runDisney Health and Fitness Expo.