'Participating in the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon Can Help Athletes Perform at the World Stage,' Says Two-time Olympic Champion Ashton Eaton

The International Event Ambassador of the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon 2023 Ashton Eaton expressed that he is very excited to be a part of the World Athletics Gold Label Road Race, slated to be held on Sunday.

Speaking during a press meet in New Delhi Eaton said, “I’m excited to be here. I recently ran a half marathon and I just loved running with people from all walks of life.”

The two-time Olympic Champion further added that events like the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon can help athletes prepare for mega quadrennial events such as the Asian Games.

READ: Asian Games 2023 Medallist Kartik Kumar and Defending Champion Sanjivani Jadhav to Lead India’s Charge at the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon

“These kinds of events are the absolute catalysts for finding talent and I think inspiring generations. And sometimes you don’t even see the benefit of these mass participative events until one has gone on to perform well. Just wait until you hear a young kid say that he or she is successful because of the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon. So, these types of events have a lot of benefits,” claimed Eaton.

The only one to have exceeded 9,000 points twice in a decathlon event also said that he has always wanted to travel to India.

“I love experiencing the world and learning about different cultures, and India has been a place I’ve always wanted to visit for an extremely long time. It’s been such a bastion on our planet and has a rich culture. I have already experienced the food, the traffic and the culture. Hopefully, I can see a lot more.”

Meanwhile, Ritu Jhingon, Group Director – Communication & Chief Executive Officer at Nand Ghar (Vedanta), spoke about the importance of the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon as a philanthropic platform during the press meet.

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“If you look around or walk around Delhi you will see hoardings everywhere about the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, and you will notice the numerous causes that are attached to this event. We at Vedanta are running for zero hunger, this symbolises that for every kilometre that you run, we will donate one meal to a child in need,” stated Jhingon.

Jhingon further added, “We pledged 1 million meals through our #RunForZeroHunger campaign last year and we ended up achieving 2 million meals. This year we pledged 2 million meals and we have already crossed that number. This year, we have already achieved 4.5 million meals and aim to hit the 5 million meal mark by race day on Sunday.”

The Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon will be flagged off from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on 15th October 2023.