Marathon

Marathoner Hoàng Nguyên Thanh will defend his 'King of Mountain' title at the 28th National Bà Rá Mountain Climbing Tournament on January 6 in Bình Phước Province. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The 28th National Bà Rá Mountain Climbing Tournament will see the participation of almost 1,000 amateur and elite athletes on January 6 in Bình Phước Province.

They will compete in 18 categories for men, women and different age groups with distances ranging from 4km to 7.7km. Athletes will have to climb 1,767 steps to the mountain, which is 723m high.

Teams such as the Military, HCM City, Đắk Lắk, Khánh Hòa and Bình Phước have registered strong runners to the event.

Among them are SEA Games marathon champion Hoàng Nguyên Thanh of Bình Phước who just secured his title at the recent National Sports Games (NSG). Thanh has won the tournament on his home ground six times. 

Former SEA Games 3,000m steeplechase champion Đỗ Quốc Luật and veteran runners Trịnh Quốc Lượng, Bùi Thế Anh and Đào Minh Thiện of the Military team will compete for the men's title.

NSG 3,000m steeplechase and 5,000m champion Nguyễn Trung Cường of Hà Tĩnh will vie for the top position after many years finishing out of top three.

The tournament will be broadcast live on channel BPTV1 of Bình Phước Television and some other regional TV channels. VNS