On May 22 the first half marathon in the history of Dnipro – INTERPIPE Dnipro Half Marathon – was held. More than 1.3 thousand runners from 9 countries took part in the competition. The program of half marathon included four races for adults – 21, 10, 5 and 2 km, and races for children – 1000, 500 and 100 m. Within the competition there was also held a charity 2-km race.
The Mayor of Dnipro Borys Filatov emphasized that they had managed to hold the sports event at the European level. He noted that they also planned to organize a full race marathon in autumn.
“We hope that in autumn we will organize a marathon. There will be much more participants. It is very important for the city. Yesterday I had a meeting with the Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine Igor Gotsul. And when he saw the level of the organization, he said they would help to hold the competitions in the city, particularly with the funds from the state budget,” said Borys Filatov.
The first to overcome the longest distance – 21 km – were 29-year-old Anna Pyechko from Dnipro and 35-year-old Serhyi Oksenyuk from Lutsk. The athlete from Dnipro has gone for running since 12 years old, she is a master of sports in steeplechase and she always wanted to win in her hometown. Serhiy Oksenyuk is a frequent participant of the European marathons. He says he has gone to Dnipro to win. “Now my favourite distance goes through the city on the Dnipro,” says Serhiy.
The relatives of the mayor Borys Filatov also took part in the competitions: his wife Marina ran 21-km distance, his nephew and daughter-in-law ran for 10 km, while his daughter and niece – for 5 km.
“In autumn all the employees of the City Hall, led by the Mayor, will run a marathon,” wrote Borys Filatov on his Facebook page.
The prize fund of INTERPIPE Dnipro Half Marathon is 23 thousand UAH. The head of Dnipro thanked to the participants and sponsors, police and municipal services for their contribution to the competition.
