At Boston Marathon, Brooklyn Ukrainian runner, others show national pride
As he faced the hills and headwinds in the Boston Marathon, Dmytro Molchanov, a 33-year-old Ukrainian citizen who lives in Brooklyn, couldn’t stop thinking of friends and family back home in Ukraine.
“When it was really tough, I tried not to give up and tried pushing, kind of fight with myself the way Ukrainians are fighting against Russia right now,” he said after crossing the finish line Monday. “It’s really tough, basically, being here while all my family, my friends and Ukrainians are fighting over there for peace in my country, in Europe and the world overall.”
Molchanov, who belongs to the Brooklyn-based Ukrainian Running Club of New York, ran the 26.2-mile race wearing a Ukraine singlet, with his face painted his homeland’s yellow and blue. He crossed the finish line with the Ukrainian flag draped over his shoulders. The Ukrainian Running Club meets and runs as a group every Saturday in Prospect Park.