More than 6,000 people have participated this Sunday in the XIV edition of the Liberty Race for Inclusion, which on this occasion has been held under the slogan “Everyone’s race” and in which a record of participants with disabilities has been broken, close to 550 people. For the second consecutive year Yassine Ouhdadi, an athlete with a disability, wins outright. Champion of 5,000 meters in Tokyo 2020, he has once again achieved first place in the men’s category with a mark of 30 minutes and 34 seconds, improving that of last year.
“Once again I have run for myself and my fellow Paralympians, and I have shown again that having a disability does not mean that you cannot win an absolute race like this. Effort, self-improvement and sacrifice are rewarded”, assured Yassine Ouhdadi. The meeting has brought together Olympic and Paralympic athletes together with athletes and fans, with and without disabilities, in addition to Juan Miguel Estallo, CEO of Liberty, and great athletics leaders such as Martin Fiz and Abel Antón, all with a single purpose: to make disability visible and promote inclusion.
The winner of the absolute female category has been Irene Caballero, who has completed the route in 36 minutes and 40 seconds. And in the female category with disabilities, the Paralympic athlete María del Carmen Paredes has won with a mark of 43 minutes and 40 seconds. Both have improved their times compared to last year’s race. The meeting has culminated with two other highly anticipated calls: the Race for Overcoming, in which around 200 people with severe disabilities along with their guides and family members have completed a 400-meter route covered by the applause and affection of the attendees, and the participation of the little ones in children’s races .
Support for the Liberty Team of Young Paralympic Athletics Promises
Juan Miguel Estallo has delivered the funds raised, a total of 14,635 euros, to the Liberty Team of Promising Young Paralympic Athletics, a team that was created together with the Spanish Paralympic Committee in 2012 with the aim of guaranteeing that any young person, regardless of their disability, could train, compete and develop in the world of sports in our country. This donation adds to the more than 267,000 euros that the company has already donated to this initiative. Juan Miguel Estallo, CEO of Liberty in Europe, has said: “It is a great joy for Liberty to celebrate this fourteenth edition of the Race together with the Paralympic Committee. Today, more than 6,000 people have dyed the center of Madrid yellow to claim inclusion, give visibility to Paralympic sport and support the sporting development of young athletes with disabilities so that they can fulfill their dreams”.