Tashkent hosted Fifth International Marathon and “Yangi Nafas” (New Breath) running marathon, timed to coincide with Navruz.

The events, which brought together almost six thousand participants and thousands of sports fans, contribute to the widespread dissemination of the principles of a healthy lifestyle among the population, and the 42-kilometer marathon gave athletes rating points for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The competitions included a classic 42 km marathon, a 21 km half marathon and mass races of 3 and 10 km. Our compatriots from 7 to 70 years old took part in the races, including para-athletes, who are a symbol of courage, strength, and will.

Thanks to the championships, Uzbekistan has risen to the status of a real sports country, uniting thousands of runners. If we turn to the numbers, then 1600 runners participated in Tashkent Marathon in 2019, and the marathon in 2022 gathered 2700 participants. The fact that about 6,000 amateurs and athletes took part in the current races indicates that the prestige of the marathon, included in the calendar of the International Athletics Federation, is strengthening in the international sports arena.

In men’s three-kilometer races, the best results were shown by Diyorbek Akhmedov from Samarkand, Eldor Botirov from Tashkent region, Jakhongir Rakhmatullayev from Kashkadarya region, among women – Anastasia Silvenko from the capital, Guzal Makhamadvaliyeva from Namangan, Oyzira Jurakulova from Surkhandarya region.

The 21-kilometer half marathon also took place in an exciting spirit. A new record of the Tashkent Half Marathon was set. In the men’s race, Shokhrukh Davlatov crossed the finish line in 1:03:37 and set a new record, Nodir Mutalipov took second place (1:06:50), Mikhail Kulkov closed the top three (1:07:51).

In the classic 42 km marathon, to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics, women needed to cover the distance in 2:26:10, and men in 2:08:10. Bakhtiyor Utkirov covered the distance in 2:20:13 and took first place. Among women, Gulshanoy Sattarova won the race in 2:46:30. The following places among men were taken by athletes from Kyrgyzstan. Among the girls, Yekaterina Vasilenko from Ukraine and another representative of Uzbekistan, Yekaterina Tungusova, won the marathon.

The marathons in Uzbekistan united about 80 thousand participants around a single goal, and the classic marathon races are remembered for the fact that they allowed several athletes to score points for the Paris 2024 Olympics, to attract hundreds of people to mass sporting events.

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Tulkin Ruziyev, UzA