The story of the young man who ran the Valencia Marathon with his mother in a wheelchair

Eric Domingo and his mother, Silvia Roldán, have gone viral in recent days after competing in the 44th edition of the Valencia Marathon, in Spain, run on Sunday, December 1 and in which a tribute was paid to those killed by of the DANA, which a month ago devastated several regions in the area and left more than 220 fatalities. This family duo caught the public’s attention because The young man participated by pushing the wheelchair of his mother, who suffers from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).

(Also read: What is DANA, or cold drop?)

Son and mother have participated in this and other marathons. His journey began in 2018. “I do this because I want to spend time with her, also to give visibility to ALS. and for playing sports. Mixing both things with my mother in this situation is incredible,” Eric told À Punt.

This 31-year-old athlete, who describes his mother as “the best person in the world,” acknowledged that “it took me little time to change the chip from walking to running with the chair because I spent a lot of time with it and I was used to it. It is an effort that is not unusual for me.”

His initial idea was to compete only in a 10 kilometer race, but the number of races has increased over the years. “It’s something incredible because in this time (my mother) has gone from thinking that it was annoying if she spoke to not being silent. When I had been running for two years, the sport had saved me from many things and I thought that maybe if I did something with it I could contribute my grain of sand at home.”.

Eric’s mother also spoke after completing the Valencia Marathon, ensuring that “I can’t ask for more, it’s an incredible feeling. I am with him, I enjoy the race with himI see the people who encourage us, it is very nice. They are incredible emotions. You cry, you smile… I live absolutely everything.”

On social networks, after this family’s story went viral, Silvia also expressed on social networks: “I want to say thank you very much for all the support I have received.”

“We can only say thank you. It’s being too much. You don’t know how happy I feel right now and my mother even more so,” said Eric, who stated that he had made a promise, “to give everything I had in this marathon. Today was simply the day, everything went perfectly, fulfilling the plan. I have suffered, I have smiled (a little today) and I have cried behind my glasses, but the most important thing has been to have the support of my mother, my friends, runners and the public. 2 years ago we ran in 2h52, today in 2h42.” According to 20 minutes, Eric and Silvia culminated in breaking the world record they set in 2021 for running a marathon pushing a wheelchair.

Just a few days ago, on November 25, son and mother had participated in the Benidorm Half Marathon, which they finished in 1h25:55 +100m, Eric said.

Last September, when Silvia had her birthday, the young athlete expressed to his mother “thank you for every day, for seeing that you never stop giving up, that you never stop smiling and for giving us the strength to take on the world. For the trips we are taking, for the message and legacy you are leaving in the world. Thank you for being the best mother I will ever have.”

“The world would be much better if there were more people like you. And yes, thanks to Social Networks, they made the right person ‘famous’,” he said.

The Kenyan athlete Sabastian Sawe was proclaimed winner in his debut in the distance and did so with a provisional time of 2:02:06, the best world record of 2024, ten seconds below that recorded by Benson Kipruto in Tokyo at the beginning of anus.

As for women, the Ethiopian Megertu Alemu fulfilled the prediction and was declared the winner, with a provisional mark of 2:16:49, fifteen seconds above her personal best.