Ukraine war veteran on prosthetic upgrades personal record at Tokyo Marathon

Veteran Roman Kashpur of Vinnytsia, who lost a leg in the war, completed the Tokyo Marathon with a personal record.

He reported this on Facebook, Ukrinform saw.

"Tokyo Marathon 2024 – Mission accomplished. This is the third marathon in the TOP 6. This is the vector that had to show whether we were doing everything right. The time is better than in all previous marathons – 4 hours and 50 minutes. This time proves we did everything right," Kashpur said in a video posted after the race.

The veteran noted he was satisfied with his result, adding that he would be working even harder to improve it in the future.

He thanked his family and friends for their support and expressed gratitude to his brothers-in-arms who saved his life. He also appealed to the wounded Ukrainian veterans.

"Wounded boys and girls, keep trying to find your true self, get out of bed. Our country needs us and we need our country. Our struggle is not over ... We will definitely win on all fronts and build back what our brothers and sisters in arms have died and continue to die for. Glory to Ukraine!" said the athlete.

The Tokyo Marathon is one of the most prestigious races in the world, part of the World Marathon Majors series. The Ukrainian team this year is sponsored by the Hromadianyn Charitable Foundation.

According to the organization, it provided support to two Ukrainian veterans for the said race – Roman Kashpur and Yuriy Kozlovskyi. Both athletes supported the fundraising effort for prosthetics and rehabilitation of severely wounded Ukrainian fighters.

As reported, Roman Kashpur joined the Army ranks in 2016 at the age of 19. In 2019, he blew up on a landmine near Marinka, losing a limb. After being injured, he found himself in sports. Less than a year after amputation he won the Heroes Games. In December 2021, he set a record of Ukraine, pulling a 16-tonne An-26 aircraft at a distance of 6.4m within 44 seconds.

After a full-scale invasion, he rejoined the army before returning to his hometown Khmelnyk where he engaged in volunteering and sports.