Spartathlon 2026: how Despoina Simantrakou won the women’s race, 13th overall in 24:45:43
Despoina Simantrakou won the women’s race at Spartathlon 2026 in 24:45:43, finishing 13th overall among 276 finish-time entries. At the first checkpoint after the start, Elefsina (km 20.1), the organisers’ live timing snapshot (27/9, 19:12) had her recorded 152nd. From there to Sparta, her recorded position improved at every later checkpoint.
From a recorded 152nd place at Elefsina
At the first checkpoint after the start, Elefsina (km 20.1), the live snapshot from 27 September, 19:12, had her recorded 152nd among 372 runners with a time there at that moment. At Megara (km 42.2) she was 107th, at Kineta (km 54.7) 87th, and at Agioi Theodoroi (km 65.2) 85th.
A better recorded position at every core checkpoint
Across the 14 core checkpoints of the live snapshot, from Elefsina to Sparta, her recorded position was better at each next checkpoint (13 of 13 intervals; the 3 mats with incomplete recording are excluded). This is net recorded-position change: it does not show whom she passed on the road. At the Corinth Canal (km 79.8) she was 66th, at Ancient Nemea (km 122.7) 43rd, at Nestani (km 170.4) 21st, and at Tegea (km 193.9) 17th, before reaching 13th at the finish.
This is her recorded position in the live timing snapshot (27/9, 19:12), not an official intermediate ranking: only the final position and finish time are official and final.
The mountain: where she stood out against runners of similar time
To compare sections regardless of terrain, her pace on each section is expressed relative to her own average pace for the whole race, and compared with the median of the same ratio for official finishers within ±1.5 hours of her own time (n=13). A value above 1.0 means a section slower than her personal average.
The climbing section of the mountain, from Sterna to Nestani (km 142.6–170.4), is where she stood out most from this group: she covered it at a relative pace of 1.115, against a median of 1.250 for the comparison group. By contrast, the first section after the start, to Elefsina, was where she trailed the comparison group the most of any section on the course: a relative pace of 0.922 against a median of 0.796.
The women’s podium
Radka Churaňová finished second woman in 26:05:56 (18th overall), one hour and twenty minutes behind Simantrakou. Lemonia Panagiotou was third in 26:58:04 (31st overall). Of the 276 finish-time entries in the official 2026 table, 60 belonged to women.
Two more Spartathlons before 2026
In the official race pages, Simantrakou has finished both previous years: 20th overall in 27:52:09 in 2024, and 10th in 25:37:44 in 2025.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the women’s race at Spartathlon 2026?
Despoina Simantrakou, in 24:45:43, 13th overall (official result).
Who were second and third among the women?
Radka Churaňová in 26:05:56 (18th overall) and Lemonia Panagiotou in 26:58:04 (31st overall).
How many women finished in 2026?
60 finish-time entries, out of 276 total in the official table.
What was her women’s position at Elefsina?
In the 27/9 19:12 live snapshot she ranked 23rd among 74 women with a recorded Elefsina passage. This is a snapshot rank, not an official intermediate classification; the final official table ranks her first woman.