Odesa Half Marathon: Unity Through Sports
The «INDEPENDENCE HALF MARATHON» in Odesa gathered more than 600 participants from various corners of Ukraine and beyond.
The race route covered iconic locations in Odesa — Primorsky Boulevard, Deribasivska, Sabaneev Bridge, Gogol Street, Rishelievska, Lanzheronivska, and others.
Odesa's mayor, Gennady Trukhanov, welcomed the half marathon participants on the Day of Physical Culture and Sports, expressing gratitude to the organizers and the Armed Forces of Ukraine for enabling us to live, care for each other, and hold such essential competitions.
The mayor emphasized the personal significance of sports in his life, stating that a healthy lifestyle is an axiom:
«Those who came here are already winners!»
The first participants of this large-scale athletic event included veterans and individuals with disabilities.
Advisor to the Odesa mayor, head of the NGO «Barrier-Free» Oleksiy Morozov, noted that the city continues to develop adaptive sports and rehabilitation programs.
The «INDEPENDENCE HALF MARATHON» featured the following distances:
- Children's distances — from 60 m to 1 km,
- Adult distances — 5 km, 10 km, and 21 km.
Today, marathoners were united not only by sports but also by a noble cause — fundraising for the prosthetics of patients at the Odessa Superhumans Center.
