Wings for Life: global charity run involves 7,000 participants in Kakheti
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Four participants emerged as winners of the Wings for Life World Run under sunny weather in Georgia’s winemaking Kakheti province on Sunday.
Held as part of the global event, the Georgian edition of the public run was won among men by Aleksandr Cheburkin, who covered over 74.7 kilometres in his run.
Nina Zarina was first of women runners with a result of 48.4km, with Irma Zveriashvili and Merab Dukashvili claiming a victory for wheelchair participants.
The start for the World Run event in Kakheti on Sunday. Photo: Ministry of Culture and Sport of Georgia press office.
As many as 7,000 participants turned up at the starting line for the event in the vineyard-strewn setting of Kakheti, on the backdrop of the Caucasus mountain chain.
Among them were prized athletes including Georgia’s weightlifting Olympic champion Lasha Talakhadze as well as Wheelchair Fencing World Cup winners Irma Khetsuriani and Nina Tibilashvili.
The roster of runners also featured winners of previous Wings for Life World Runs in Georgia and abroad, including Giorgi Shekrelidze, Sebastian Hallmann and Veysi Aslan.
Winners of the global World Runs will get to pick the location for next year’s event as a recognition of their achievements.
Participants socialise at a location selected for the charity in Georgia. Photo: Ministry of Culture and Sport of Georgia press office.
Held simultaneously in locations across the world, Wings for Life World Run events mark a charity effort to raise funds for spinal cord research at major institutions.
Instead of a traditional static finish line, competitors run for as long as they can along a designated route until they are passed by an advancing ‘catcher car’, at which point their race is over.
The final contestant to be passed by the car is crowned the winner, with results from local runners also qualifying for a global result list.
This year, Georgia hosted its edition of the run for the fifth time.
Thousands of Georgians and tourists flocked to Georgia’s Kakheti region to take part in the Wings for Life World Run – a one-off event which took place simultaneously around the world.
In less than an hour’s time thousands of people in Georgia will join in the largest charity running event in the world’s sporting history. Some will run, others will jog or walk, or even race in a wheelchair.
Organisers expect thousands for 2016 Kakheti charity race
Are you keen to join a public sporting event in the midst of eastern Georgia's beautiful vineyards and support a global charity cause at the same time?
Two service members of Georgian armed forces, a rescuer from the country’s Emergency Management Service and an award-winning teacher will be goodwill ambassadors for this year’s Wings for Life World Run charity event in the country this coming spring.
Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi hosted a marathon for the representatives of the diplomatic corps aimed to promote a healthy lifestyle. Lisi Lake, one of the most beautiful recreational areas in Georgia’s capital, hosted the sports competition.
Georgia’s Black Sea town of Batumi hosted a night marathon yesterday evening, aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle. Known as the Great Batumi Night Race, the competition engaged thousands of participants from dozens of countries.
Georgia will join Wings for Life, a global charity run held in hundreds of locations across the world, for the sixth time when participants gather at the start line in the sunlit eastern province of Kakheti on Sunday.
Over 1,000 participants turned up for this year’s Wings for Life charity run edition in Georgia, with the country joining the race’s worldwide events on Sunday.
Georgia will join Wings For Life World Run, a global charity event held in hundreds of locations across the world, for the 10th time next month, with thousands of participants expected to join the contest in the country's eastern Kakheti region.