Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Despite the cold weather, early this morning, sports fans gathered at the capital’s ice complex "Humo Arena". Because the II International Tashkent Marathon started today.

Initially, the marathon was planned to be held in March, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the date of the competition was postponed. The event was attended by the Secretary of the Security Council under the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Chairman of the Triathlon Federation of Uzbekistan Viktor Makhmudov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Aziz Abdukhakimov and wished success to the participants.

“Thanks to all fans for being there despite the cold weather. At the initiative of our esteemed President, special attention is paid to promoting a healthy lifestyle. Health paths are being built in all corners of the Republic. After the Samarkand half marathon, we want to hold the Aral marathon as well. We believe that by organizing such events, we will contribute to the development of mass sports in the country. Today we ourselves want to show you an example. So, Viktor Makhmudov is planning to run 21 kilometers today,” Aziz Abdukhakimov said.

 “Today is a big sports festival in Tashkent. Thanks to the attention paid by the Head of State to the field of sports and a healthy lifestyle, the number of people engaged in physical culture is growing. We recently held a half marathon in Samarkand, which aroused the interest of our compatriots. Of course, jogging is very beneficial for human health and to practice this sport you do not need to have sports equipment, enough shoes and comfortable clothes. Taking this opportunity, I wish success to all participants,” said Viktor Makhmudov.

The marathon distance is certified by AIMS (International Association of Marathon and Long Distances), a team member of the World Athletics Federation. The performance of this marathon also deserves attention, because thanks to the indicators, runners can win a ticket to the Olympic Games. It should be noted that representatives of neighboring republics also participate in the marathon. We wish good luck and success to our runners in today’s competition.

The strongest marathon runners of our national team took part in the competitions held on the central streets of Tashkent in order to fulfill the standard of the Tokyo Olympics in addition to winning. It should be emphasized that in an uncompromising race, two of our representatives managed to fulfill the standard of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Among the girls, Ekaterina Tunguskova, and among men, Andrei Petrov, became real heroes of today. To overcome 42 km 195 m it took Andrei 2:10.06 minutes, and Ekaterina 2:28.55. Also, within the framework of the competition, the names of the winners and prize-winners in the half marathon became known.

Marathon. Men:

1.Andrei Petrov (Uzbekistan) - 2: 10.06

2. Ilya Tyapkin (Kyrgyzstan) - 2: 16.07

3. Vladislav Mamedov (Uzbekistan) - 2: 17.35

Women:

1.Maria Korobitskaya (Kyrgyzstan) - 2: 26.43

2. Ekaterina Tunguskova (Uzbekistan) - 2:28.55

3. Marina Khmelevskaya (Uzbekistan) - 2:30.39

Officials who took part in the closing ceremony of the marathon congratulated the winners and prize-winners, as well as those who fulfilled the Tokyo Olympics standard. Also, the secretary of the Security Council under the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, chairman of the triathlon federation of Uzbekistan Viktor Makhmudov, who promised to run the half marathon (21 km), was awarded in the nomination for willpower to win.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games marathon standard was 2:11:30 minutes for men and 2:29:30 minutes for women.