Viet Nam News
HA NOI — Vu Van Son passed defending champion Bui The Anh to win the National Tien Phong Newspaper Marathon yesterday in Ninh Binh Province.
Son, of the hosts, finished his 42.195km with a time of 2hr 26.39min, running along the magnificent scenery of Trang An Landscapes Complex, a World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
Son finished just five seconds faster than Anh of the Army.
Trinh Quoc Luong, also of the Army, was at third with a time of 2:30.49.
The result of the top-three athletes were all better than that of Soh Rui Yong Guillaume of Singapore, who ran 2:34.56 to win the Southeast Asian Games’ gold medal in 2015.
On the women’s side, Hoang Thi Thanh had no difficulty in defending her title.
Thanh of the Army came in first with a time of 2:45.25. She ran about seven minutes faster than 2015 SEA Games gold medalist Natthaya Thanarnnawat of Thailand. In those games, Thanh was third after 3:07.14.
She was followed by teammate Le Thi Thoa (2:47.51) and Leo Thi Tinh from Son La (3:13.01).
This year’s marathon saw dozens of amateur athletes running for the first time. However, none of them could join the medal lists.
Nguyen Phuong Thuy was the only amateur athlete in the women’s marathon event.
Thuy ran against three professional runners and finished last, with strong support from her husband.
The 32-year-old runner ran 3:57.00, a result that referees said was good for an amateur runner.
In the men’s professional 10km, national team member Nguyen Dinh Luat of the Army retained the championship. Luat completed his race with a time of 31.33min.
Le Van Thao of Thanh Hoa and Le Van Tuan of Dong Nai were second and third, respectively.
Nguyen Thi Oanh of Bac Giang was first in the women’s professional 5km event (17.41min).
Pham Thi Hue of Quang Ninh (17.43min) and Lo Thi Thanh of Son La (17.59) were the runners-up.
Binh Phuoc Province won the team’s top ranking and Ninh Binh came in second. — VNS