Two hours, seven minutes, 33 seconds. In this world-class time, the Ukrainian Alexander Kuzin won the Linz marathon on April 15, 2007. It was the course of his life. The course record still stands today. For Kuzin, however, times have changed dramatically since Russia invaded Ukraine. The 47-year-old police athlete is currently not fighting for records in Kyiv, but for survival. His family managed to escape in the past few days. Linz was a not unimportant milestone.
“I’ve always stayed in touch with Alexander over the past few years. When the situation in Ukraine got hot, I offered to pick him and his family up at a border with Ukraine. No matter where, I would have come,” says Ewald Tröbinger, the longtime head of organization for the Linz marathon. Kuzin finally asked for accommodation for his wife, two children and his sister’s family, who fled together from Kyiv last week. The record runner himself couldn’t (or didn’t want to) run away anymore, since “fit for military” men up to the age of 60 have not been allowed to leave the Ukraine since the beginning of the war. After a multi-day odyssey via Romania, the group of eight refugees finally reached Linz on Sunday, where, after Tröbinger’s mediation and Roman Gassenbauer’s help, they were able to spend the night in his summer house hotel and finally take a deep breath.
A record as a business card
“They were on the road for eight days and were really happy about the rooms and especially the breakfast buffet,” says Tröbinger. Kuzin said to his wife when they said goodbye that she should definitely show his children the main square in Linz, where he ran the marathon record in 2007. Unfortunately, this wish could not be fulfilled in the hurry – the destination of the flight were acquaintances in Germany. Tröbinger explains that Linz’s main square is a special place for Kuzin: “His world-class time back then is not only an excellent calling card for the Linz marathon, it also had a strong influence on Alexander’s life.” Kuzin is considered a running legend in Ukraine, and his wife Tatiana, a former runner-up in the New York Marathon, has also shown staying power as an endurance athlete.
hope to see you again
Together they look after ambitious amateur runners and talents in the “Kuzin Team – Marathon Club Taras Bulba”. At the beginning of April 2017, ten years after his course record, Kuzin traveled with a group of 30 runners in a bus from the Ukraine to the marathon in Linz. The Kuzin team won the relay race back then.
A start is also planned this year when the 20th Linz Marathon is held on October 23rd. In his last WhatsApp message to Tröbinger, Kuzin thanked him for the help and wrote that he was already looking forward to seeing him again in Linz in October. It is to be wished for him and his family that the CV of the Linz record holder Alexander Kuzin can actually take this direction.
Source: Nachrichten
