On August 12, 2018 in Zaporizhzhia, a grand “Colorful swim” was held in open water for the first time. The National Club of Amateur Athletes together with Zaporizhzhia City Council arranged sports and fan holiday for Zaporizhzhia citizens and the guests of the city. “Zaporizhstal” Steel Works provided financial and administration support for the event.
About 500 people from 15 regions of Ukraine took part in the competition. Moreover, most of the participants – more than 300 people – expressed a desire to assay their strength at a kilometer distance. On Sunday morning at 10:30 they all started from the coast of Khortitsa (near “Dniprospetsstal” rowing base) and finished on the Central beach. Dmitriy Omelkov leaded among men, the best result among women had Zaporizhzhia triathlete Marina Sokolova.
Greeting the participants, Rostyslav Shurma, General Director of “Zaporizhstal”, said, “Zaporizhzhia is the first city in Ukraine where there were grand open water competitions. According to the already established tradition, it was “Zaporizhstal” that partnered with this positive sporting event. I believe that today’s swim across the Dnipro will become a feature of Zaporizhzhia. Now we have 500 participants, but I’m sure: in a few years, thousands of people from all over Ukraine will come to our city to participate in the swim.”
Dmitriy Golodnyuk was the first who covered the distance of 200 meters, the fastest among the women was Polina Verbitskaya. Notably, that both leaders of 200-meter distance preliminarily “warmed up” at the kilometer swim.
In the pair relay race – 2 x 200 meters – the best was the duo of Marina Sokolova, the winner of the kilometer distance and her coach Kirill Krivonos.
A big “Zaporizhstal” corporate team took part in “Colorful swim”. While more than 70 employees of the enterprise conquered open water, on the coast the most loyal fans – families, friends and colleagues – supported them.
Among the participants in the swim, there were not only amateurs, but also professional athletes. Oksana Khudyakova, Olympic champion, shared her impressions: “The organization of the swim is at the highest level. The number of participants of the swim was a welcome surprise. It is great that people are involved in sports, are concerned with their health.”
See photo-report from “Colorful swim” on the enterprise’s website or on “Zaporizhstal” page in Facebook.