At Pamplona's San Fermín festival, a tiny minority of those who run with bulls are women

PAMPLONA, Spain (AP) — Dressed in the traditional bull runner’s garb of a white shirt and red neck-scarf, Yomara Martínez, 30, sprinted in the death-defying morning run or “encierros” taking place this week in the northern Spanish city of Pamplona.

Yet despite being in a crowd of thousands, Martínez was among only a handful of women daredevils running with the stampeding bulls at the San Fermín Festival.

“At the end of the day, the bull doesn’t know about sexes, age or body shape,” Martinez said. “It doesn’t matter if you are woman.”

Every year, thousands of people line the medieval streets of Pamplona to witness the centuries-old tradition of running with bulls. Many watch from balconies and wooden barricades along the course. Millions more follow the spectacle on television.

Women bull runners are rare, though Martínez and other women taking part in the adrenaline-fueled tradition as more than mere spectators say it’s growing in popularity.

“There are times I feel small. And ask myself ‘what am I doing here?’ Because, although you may not want to, you do feel slightly inferior because of your physique,” said 32-year-old Sara Puñal, an administrator who took part in Sunday's run.

“But in the moment, you are all equal,” Puñal said of the run.

The bulls pound along the twisting cobblestone streets after being led by six steers. Up to 4,000 runners take part in each bull run, which takes place over 846 meters (2,775 feet) and can last two to four minutes.

The expert Spanish runners try to sprint just in front of the bull’s horns for a few seconds while egging the animal on with a rolled newspaper. Gorings are not rare, but many more people are bruised and injured in falls and pileups with each other.

“I think many have a desire to see what it feels like but they don’t try because of fear,” said Paula López, 32, a shop assistant who also took part in a run earlier in the week. López said she grew up in the masculine world of bull fighting. She wasn’t fazed by how few women take part in the event.

“It's complicated, but it is pretty exciting,” López said.

The event’s reputation took a hit years ago following complaints by women about having suffered sexual harassment and abuse from revelers.

In 2016, five men raped an 18-year-old woman during the festival in an infamous case that sparked an outcry across Spain. The men, who had a WhatsApp group named “La Manada,” or “The Animal Pack,” were imprisoned for 15 years by the Supreme Court in 2019.

Since then, organizers have said they’ve stepped up security measures.

Women didn't participate in the bull runs until 1975 due to a decree repealed one year earlier that prohibited women, children and the elderly from being in the streets where the bulls run during the festival.

The spectacle was made internationally famous by Ernest Hemingway’s classic 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises,” about American bohemians wasting away in Europe.

——

Naishadham reported from Madrid.

CORRECTS OMARA TO YOMARA - Bull-runner Yomara Martinez poses for a portrait during the San Fermín festival in Pamplona, northern Spain, on Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Revelers run alongside José Escolar Gil's fighting bulls during the sixth running of the bulls at the San Fermín Festival in Pamplona, Spain, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Bull-runner Sara Puñal poses for a portrait during the San Fermín festival in Pamplona, northern Spain, on Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Bull-runner Omara Martinez poses for a portrait during the San Fermín festival in Pamplona, northern Spain, on Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Bull-runner Paula Lopez poses for a portrait during the San Fermín festival in Pamplona, northern Spain, on Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

SHEFFIELD, England (AP) — It was Georgia's day at the European figure skating championships Thursday.

Skaters representing the former Soviet nation won the pairs gold medal and took the lead in the men's event at the championships, a key warmup for next month's Winter Olympics.

Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava recovered from a fall to win their first European title after silver in 2024 and bronze last year.

The Georgians had the lead from Wednesday's short program and, even though Metelkina fell on a triple toeloop, the rest of their free skate was strong to score 139.80 for a total 215.76.

The two skaters laid on their backs on the ice in relief after finishing their free skate, as Berulava pumped his fists and made a snow angel gesture.

The title defense of Germany's Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin ended with an erratic free skate. Hase fell on a throw triple loop and tumbled to the ice again when Volodin tried to lower her down from their final lift.

Hase seemed in pain as she waited for the scores, and then stunned to see that she and Volodin had scored enough to stay ahead overall of third-place Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko of Hungary, 203.87 to 202.56.

Georgian figure skater Nika Egadze edged ahead of two Estonian brothers to take the lead in the men's short program.

Egadze scored 91.28 points for the lead after starting his program with a bang, following up a quadruple salchow-triple toeloop combination with a quad toeloop.

That was enough to beat last year's silver medalist Aleksandr Selevko on 88.71 and his younger brother Mihhail on 88.28. Defending champion Lukas Britschgi was sixth for Switzerland.

Estonia is on track for more medals as Niina Petrokina leads the women's event ahead of Friday's free skate.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics

Estonia's Aleksandr Selevko competes during the Men's Short Program on day two of the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, Thursday, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)

Georgia's Nika Egadze competes during the Men's Short Program on day two of the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, Thursday, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)

Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin compete during the Pairs Free Skating on day two of the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)

Georgia's Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava compete during the Pairs Free Skating on day two of the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)

Georgia's Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava compete during the Pairs Free Skating on day two of the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)