Athlete proposes to girlfriend in heartwarming moment following marathon victory in Kazan.
In a thrilling race, Dmitry Nedelin clinched the Russian marathon title in Kazan, crossing the finish line in an impressive time of 2 hours 9 minutes 38 seconds. Earlier victories include the Moscow Marathon win in 2023 and a bronze medal in 2024, cementing his place in the Russian running scene.
Vladimir Nikitin follows close behind, finishing in second place with a time of 2 hours 10 minutes. Kenyan Elkanah Kangat rounds out the top three with a time of 2:13.15. Alexei Reunkov, who beat Nedelin at the finish line last year in Kazan, got the bronze medal this time with a time of 2:13.32.
Nedelin shared his thoughts after the race: "Losing teaches you better than winning. Today, I might not have set a new record, but I have a far more important mission to accomplish. I just proposed to my girlfriend, Anastasia Tukmachova, and she said yes!"
Marina Kovaleva stormed to the women's title (2:30.27), with Luiza Dmitriyeva coming in second (2:33.20). The bronze medal was shared by Alena Tatarinova and Natalia Leontyeva (2:33.22). Kenyan Judith Cherono's sprint time of 2:29.21 sets the fastest time in the marathon overall.
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Vladimir Nikitin finished in second place, narrowly missing the gold in the marathon with a time of 2 hours 10 minutes, while Alexei Reunkov, who beat Nedelin last year, this time clinched the bronze with a time of 2:13.32. In an interesting turn of events, Vladimir Nedelin, the Russian marathon champion, shared that his focus is not only on sports success, as he recently proposed to his girlfriend, Anastasia Tukmachova, who agreed to marry him.
