

This Sunday the capital of Ukraine hosted the 7th Kyiv International Marathon – “Wizz Air Kyiv City Marathon 2016”. Neither rain, which at times turned into a downpour, nor cool weather and hail wind could cancel the biggest race event of the year. More than 6,600 athletes and amateurs from 50 countries came on Sunday to the starting lines of their courses.
“Despite unfavorable weather conditions, Kyiv Marathon happened. I thank all the brave participants who were not afraid to come to the starting line on Sunday and prove that Kyiv is a sports city!”- said Dmytro Chernitskyi, the founder of the Kyiv International Marathon.
The fiercest battle of the day unfolded on the marathon course between Artem Piddubnyi and a Paralympic athlete Oleh Leshchyshyn. On the 34th km Artem caught up with Leshchyshyn who was a leader at the time and “got on his tail”, looking for an opportunity for a breakthrough, and just a few kilometers from the finish line one of his attempts succeeded. However, upon the homestretch (near the Bessarabskyi market) Oleh Leshchyshyn regained the lead and confidently finished first. Artem Piddubnyi finished second 9 seconds later. The third result was demonstrated by the last-year winner of the Kyiv International Marathon Yevhen Hlyva.
Among women on the marathon course, Yuliia Bairamova finished first and bypassed Olena Fedorova by 3 minutes. Olha Donchenko finished third.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko took part in the event and came to the starting line of the charity race of 2 km. Kyiv Mayor said that the participants of the marathon ran not just to race and promote a healthy lifestyle, but also to draw attention to the problems of people who need our help.
“I am happy that Kyiv is truly a sports city. It is good that a large number of people entered the marathon and joined the charity race. I wish all good mood and victory, “- said Vitaly Klitschko.
The funds collected at registration for the 2-kilometer charity race “Make A Dream Come True” will be used for treatment of Sophia Zhylina. The girl has endured 30 surgeries and needs a few more.
This year the track of Kyiv International Marathon was certified by AIMS and IAAF. Now, the results of athletes on the courses of 42.195 km and 21.0975 km will be recognized by the international community, so the athletes have a chance to set European and world records. Besides, having showed a good time on Kyiv hills, you can get to the marathons that require qualification results.
The route of the marathon course ran in one lap around the Kyiv downtown. It started on Khreshchatyk, then the participants ran past Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, World War Two Museum , St. Michael’s cathedral and other beautiful sights of Kyiv. By agreement with the city administration, the streets of the marathon route were closed for traffic in a wave-like pattern to maintain the balance between the needs of the runners and the timetable of city transport.
“In 2014 we announced about our sponsorship of “Wizz Air Kyiv City Marathon”. Since then, the number of participants of this event has been constantly growing just as the web of the low-cost routes of Wizz Air. More and more people from all around the world are willing to come to participate in the marathon. Having started its operations in 2004, Wizz Air intends to make flights available to anyone. The company slogan “Now we can all fly” demonstrates our conviction that active lifestyle, just as a possibility to travel, should be available to anyone. That is why we are very pleased to be the title sponsor of “Wizz Air Kyiv City Marathon 2016”, the biggest running event in Ukraine. Our airline supports both the desire of Ukrainians to lead a healthy lifestyle and to travel comfortably and at an affordable price, that is why we now offer 13 destinations to 7 countries from Kyiv 7. We hope to see many of our passengers both from Ukraine and other countries at the marathon this Sunday! “– said Tamara Valois, the head of Communications Department of Wizz Air.
Compared to last year, the total prize fund doubled and amounted to 78,000 UAH. Each participant of the 21 km and 42 km courses received a medal at the finish line.
The marathon included 5 races of various distances for adults from 2 to 42.195 km. There were three courses for children: 100 m, 500 m, 1000 m, the participation in them was free, but advance registration was required.
This year special attention was paid to the health of athletes admitted to the 42.195 km and 21.0975 km courses. Only the runners who underwent medical testing at specialized sports centers were admitted to these courses.
About 740 volunteers were helping out over the three days, including 603 volunteers on the day of the race, 341 marshals on the track. The medical assistance consisted of 22 intensive care teams, 40 volunteers of the Red Cross, 6 medical teams of MotoHelp 6 and 16 volunteers of the Maltese Cross. There were 13 hydration stations along the route.
There were well-known personalities participating in this running feast, including: the Ambassador of France to Ukraine Isabelle Dupont, MP Yehor Soboliev and his wife Marichka Padalko, the lead singer of SKY Oleh Savchuk, TV presenters Liudmyla Barbir, Valentyna Khomaiko, Lidiia Taran, Anatolii Anatolich.
The oldest participant of the Kyiv marathon was a 75-year-old Oleh Shetankov who ran the course of 42.195 km and the oldest participant on all courses was an 80-year-old Alla Rekka.
Winners:
42.095 km
Men:
- Oleh Leshchyshyn (2:31:10)
2.Artem Piddubnyi (2:31:19)
- Evhen Hlyva (2:33:18)
Women:
- Yuliia Bairamova (3:01:11)
2.Olena Fedorova (3:04:54)
3.Olha Donchenko (3:05:28)
21.0975 km
Men:
- Serhii Marchuk (1:14:31)
2.Oleksandr Svitenkov (1:07:03)
- Viacheslav Zubkov (1:20:50)
Women:
- Olha Dehtiarenko (1:32:18)
2.Hanna Volkova (1:37:16)
3.Olena Sumina (1:37:43)
10 km
Men:
1.Oleksandr Voloshyts (38:15)
2.Yevhen Korolov (39:20)
- Ruslan Klymenko (40:09)
Women:
- Snizhana Rybak (42:09)
- Lara Hruben (42:22)
3.Hanna Kalinichenko (42:33)
5 km
Men:
- Leonid Raiets (17:08)
2.Oleh Tsybin (17:10)
- Leonid Shelest (17:12)
Women:
- Tetiana Zabozhchuk (20:08)
2.Oleksandra Azarova (20:22)
3.Anna Ivashchiuk (21:25)
Detailed results are available on the event website https://kyivmarathon.org/.
Title sponsor – WizzAir.
General sponsor: adidas
For more information contact:
Viktoriia Veremiienko
Mob. tel.: +380 67 995 27 67
email: [email protected]
Anna Gordiichuk
mob.tel: +380 97 484 45 16
Email: [email protected]