The Municipal Sports Board has announced the addition of five prominent male and female runners to the 38th edition of the International Autumn Mile 'Manuel Pancorbo'. Among the confirmed are U20 1,500m World Champion Josephine Sembeyo; Mediterranean Games silver medalist Lorea Ibarzabal; promising middle-distance runner Anna Torras; and national podium finishers Carlos Sáez and Alejandro Quijada.
Josephine Sembeyo, just 19 years old, arrives as the current U20 1,500m World Champion, a title she secured in Oregon on August 9th. Despite a fall in the final, the Kenyan athlete won gold and has improved her personal bests this year in the 1,500m (4:09.89) and 800m (2:05.85).
Lorea Ibarzabal, who finished second in her only previous participation in the event, comes off a strong season. The Canarian middle-distance runner won the 800m silver medal at the Mediterranean Games in Taranto and the bronze at the Spanish Championships in Málaga.
Catalan athlete Anna Torras has established herself as one of the most promising young national middle-distance runners. After a bronze medal at the Spanish Indoor Short Track Championships, she shifted her season's focus to cross-country and the 1,500m, where she achieved a commendable fifth place at the Absolute Spanish Championships.
In the men's category, Alejandro Quijada has solidified his position in the international elite of the 3,000m steeplechase. The Madrid-born athlete won bronze at the Spanish Championships and finished sixth at the European Championships in Birmingham with a time of 8:29.15. He also competed in the Diamond League in Monaco.
Carlos Sáez is participating in his second consecutive Jaén Mile. The athlete has been the Spanish runner-up in the 1,500m twice and won bronze at the National Short Track Championships in Valencia. He finished eighth at the World Championships in the same discipline and was called up for the European Championships in Birmingham.
These five athletes join the already confirmed Ignacio Fontés, Marta Serrano, David Barroso, Daniel Arce, María Forero, Marta Mitjans, Mohamed Attaoui, and Carla Gallardo. The elite women's race will start at 13:00, and the men's at 13:15.
