Marathon

Hoàng Thị Ngọc Hoa on the top podium of the international Vietcombank Mekong Delta Marathon Hậu Giang 2022 on July 17 in Hậu Giang Province. Photo baogiaothong.vn

HÀ NỘI — Hoàng Thị Ngọc Hoa of Bình Phước secured a big cash purse after setting a new record at the international Vietcombank Mekong Delta Marathon Hậu Giang 2022 on July 17 in Hậu Giang Province.

The SEA Games bronze medallist finished the women's full marathon category with a time of 3hr 11.38min, leaving her two nearest rivals far behind.

Nguyễn Thị Đường came second on 3:34.39 and Hồ Minh Trang Nhã was third on 3:51.00.

Hoa said it was her first time running in this tournament. Her result was not as good as in other tournaments but she enjoyed the environment.

Hoa's result however was a new height in the tournament and she grabbed a big bonus of VNĐ50 million (US$2,200) as the record maker along with VNĐ42 million for top place.

The old record was 3:30.40 set by Hứa Thanh Giang from Vũng Tàu in 2020.

On the men's side, SEA Games champion Hoàng Nguyên Thanh from Bình Phước Province met no difficulty to grab first place with a time of 2:46:41.

He was followed by Lê Văn Tuấn and Lý Hải.

This year's tournament lured nearly 9,000 runners competing in six categories including two for children.

For each runner, organisers plant a tree with the tournament's message #SaveMekongDelta to raise awareness of climate change and environmental protection. VNS