Valmir Nunes (born January 16, 1964) is a Brazilian runner. A former world record holder, he currently holds South American and Brazilian

Ultramarathon An ultramarathon is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon distance of . The sport of running ultramarathons is called ultra running or ultra distance running. Various distances, surfaces, and formats are raced competitively, from the ...

records.

Career

Nunes initially found success in the distance race, winning the world championship in 1991. He also placed first in the U.S.A. National 100 Kilometer Championship, finishing before the first

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

. In 1995 Nunes set the world record with a time of 6 hours, 18 minutes and 9 seconds in

Winschoten Winschoten (; ) is a city with a population of 18,518 in the municipality of Oldambt (municipality), Oldambt in the northeast of the Netherlands. It is the largest city in the region of Oldambt (region), Oldambt in the province of Groningen (prov ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. His record was not broken until 1998. Nunes has also been successful in longer races. In 2001 he won the

Spartathlon Spartathlon is a ultramarathon race held annually in Greece since 1983, between Athens and Sparti, the modern town on the site of ancient Sparta. The Spartathlon is based on the run of Pheidippides, who ran from Athens to Sparta before the ...

in Greece in a time of 23 hours, 18 minutes and 5 seconds. He is a former record holder at the

Badwater Ultramarathon The Badwater Ultramarathon is a ultramarathon race starting at below sea level in the Badwater Basin, in California's Death Valley, and ending at an elevation of at Whitney Portal, the trailhead to Mount Whitney. It takes place annually in m ...

. In 2007 he was the first runner to finish the race in less than 24 hours, setting a course record of 22 hours, 51 minutes and 29 seconds. During the race, temperatures reached . His record lasted 12 years, and was broken in 2019 by Japanese runner Yoshihiko Ishikawa, who stablished the new record in 21 hours, 33 minutes and 01 second. In October 2010 Nunes attempted to break the world record for a 24-hour treadmill race. Although he won the race by running , he was unable to break the world record of .

Coaching

Nunes also coaches several runners, who compete in marathons and ultramarathons. In 1998 Nunes encouraged his maid, Sirlene Pinho, to begin running competitively. She has since won a bronze medal in the marathon at the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Rio 2007, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of ...

. In 2010 he released a book about his experiences in ultrarunning.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nunes, Valmir Living people 1964 births Brazilian male long-distance runners World record setters in athletics (track and field) Brazilian ultramarathon runners Male ultramarathon runners 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen