On May 5, Georgia Stood at the Start Line for the Sixth Time!
On May 5, the Wings for Life World Run was held in Kakheti, bringing together 7,000 participants. Gaiane Ustian (32,53km) and Levan Chokheli (53,787km) were the local winners.
David Mzee, the participant and patient financed by the Wings for Life Foundation, which supports spinal cord injury treatment, was at the start line in Switzerland, and then spent 30 minutes running the race. “I beat my record! Six minutes on a flat surface was my maximum at the clinic, while I managed to run 390 meters in 30 minutes in the new location and in such weather,” he said.
The World Run took place in 323 locations in 72 countries this year. 120,000 participants covered 1,103,276km in total, and EUR 3.5 million was raised for spinal cord treatment. Donations are still coming in.
The status of Global Winner of Wings for Life World Run was given to two runners from Russia: Nina Zarina (53.72) and Ivan Motorin (64.37).
The Wings for Life World Run is a unique charity marathon which brings together professional sportsmen, casual joggers and wheelchair users aged 18+. The World Run has no restrictions, no defined running distance or time and no traditional finish line. Half an hour after the race starts, a moving finish line, the ‘Catcher Car’ starts chasing runners along the course, gradually accelerating the speed from 14 km/h to 34 km/h. In comparison with previous years, this year the Georgian ‘Catcher Car’ was sped up every half an hour, driven by Sandro Tavartkiladze.
About the research
The Nature and Neuroscience Magazine published a study supervised by Swiss scientists Gregory Korton (EPFL and CHUV/Unil) and Jacqueline Bloch (CHUV/Unil) in December 2018. The research brought together three patients with severe spinal cord damage, all of whom were ultimately given the ability to walk unaided. At the first stage of the research, wireless implants were installed in their spinal cords which were connected to their paralyzed leg muscles to provide electric stimulation controlled by a device like a wrist-watch that reacted to the owner’s voice to activate or deactivate the stimulator according to need. Following several weeks of work, the three patients had ‘control’ of their leg muscles. Five months of exercise later and they were able to walk totally unaided.
The next stage of the research is to use the electric stimulator at the early phase of nerve damage, where there is a higher chance for the restoration of health.
There are 191 ongoing projects financed by the Foundation in 2019.
All the money raised by racers goes to the Wings for Life foundation. All the donations are transferred to the Foundation through the EMS (European Merchant Services) system.
The Georgian Wings for Life World Run 2019 was organized by: Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, the National Federation ‘Sport for All’, as well as the team of Red Bull Company.
By Ketevan Kvaratskheliya