More than 3,000 people at the finish line of the European Games Night Run!

It was a very exciting evening. On Saturday April 22 at 9:30 p.m., in the spectacular scenery of the illuminated Main Square in Krakow, the 10 km European Games Night Run – the biggest event accompanying the 20th edition of Cracovia Marathon – began. As many as 3401 people from 35 countries took part in the event, and they were cheered on by crowds of supporters gathered in the Old Town. The titular partner of the 8th edition of the run was the European Games 2023.

The event was solemnly opened by Marcin Nowak, President of the Board of Directors of the European Games 2023 Company – for the first time in front of the Malopolska public, he presented the Flame of Peace, which will light the torch of the 3rd edition of Europe’s largest sporting event on June 21. The excellent sprinter ran a symbolic section of the route with the torch, and a moment later the crowds of runners gathered at the starting line began their fight for a medal.

Marcin Nowak hopes that such initiatives will introduce the idea of the Games to the wider public and infect everyone with the love of sports. “There are two months left until the Games, and today’s event is the perfect opportunity to show the residents the Flame of Peace, which came to Malopolska on Friday – from Rome, through Warsaw, all the way to Krakow. We are meeting in a special place, the Main Square, where the finals in padel and teqball will be held during the Games. Krakow is the heart of the upcoming event, and we couldn’t miss the Night Run, which has a long-standing tradition in Poland. Our presence here has been very warmly received. I hope that we’ll witness same interest and crowds will fill arenas of the III European Games. You can buy your ticket now,” said the President of the 2023 European Games.

The first to appear at the finish line was Albert Kipkorir Tonui. The Kenyan was in an excellent shape that day – earlier he took second place in the 16th Mini Cracovia Marathon named after Piotr Gładki for the RMF MAXX Cup. “The atmosphere at the race was fantastic. On each section of the route, you could feel the support of the fans and their positive energy. Krakow is a great city, and the residents are lucky that it is here that the upcoming Olympics will be held,” the Kenyan told after his victory.

Among women, Izabela Paszkiewicz, who became famous earlier as the winner of the 3rd edition of the Cracovia Royal Half Marathon, triumphed. “I ran very well today, and despite the fact that I am still in a recovery from an injury, I was focused to win from the beginning. The atmosphere, the weather, the people – everything was great, and even the difficult, dark sections of the route, I managed to run smoothly. This is an excellent event at a biggest level, and I hope that events like this, or the upcoming European Games, will happen more and more in Poland. We have excellent athletes, Olympic medalists, and we have something to brag about. I already encourage all fans to support their favorites during the summer sports celebration. Both in person and in front of TV sets. I will certainly be following each of the competitions,” said the best female runner.

Second place in the men’s competition went to the winner of the earlier 16th Mini Cracovia Marathon named after Piotr Gładki for the RMF MAXX Cup, Kenyan Kennedy Kipkemoi Rono. With loud cheering from Polish fans, Adam Nowicki, Tokyo Olympian and 2022 national champion in the 10 km run, came in third at the finish line.

Among the women, Natalia Semenovich and Philice Cheboriot Kipkerio were next on the podium. The Ukrainian was last year’s winner of the 10 km run, and also has to her credit a second (2022) and third (2023) place in the Mini Cracovia Marathon. The Kenyan, meanwhile, is the winner of this year’s 16th Mini Cracovia Marathon named after Piotr Gladki for the RMF MAXX Cup.

Among the crowds of runners were people of various nations and ages. On the route one could also spot actress Joanna Jabłczyńska or representatives of the ASICS FrontRunner team. On that night, everyone was united by their love of sports, and you could feel in the air the growing excitement about upcoming European Games Kraków-Małopolska 2023.

The triumphants of the 2023 European Games Night Run were presented with prizes by: Krakow Deputy Mayor for Social and Municipal Policy Andrzej Kulig, Director of the Board of Sports Infrastructure in Krakow Krzysztof Kowal, and Marcin Nowak.

Complete results of the Games Night Run 10 km can be found here: https://wyniki.datasport.pl/results4023/indexnew.php.