Shelmith Nyawira Muriuki of Kenya won the women's 42km title of the Sparkling Quy Nhơn Marathon on June 11. Photos of VnExpress Marathon

QUY NHƠN — Shelmith Nyawira Muriuki strode her way to victory in the VnExpress Marathon Quy Nhơn Sparkling 2023 on June 11 leaving all her rivals in her wake. 

In Bình Định Province, the Kenyan lead from the off, and even caught up to the leading runners in the men's category in what was her first race in Việt Nam.

She finished first in a time of 2hr 47.41min, setting a new record of not only the tournament but also the VnExpress Marathon series.

Lê Thị Lam and Lèo Thị Tình couldn't catch Muriuki and finished second and third, respectively, some 20 minutes after the African runner.

Phạm Ngọc Phan became a new winner of the five-year tournament, beating veteran runners including reigning and two-time champion Lê Văn Tuấn in a dramatic finish.

Senior Nguyễn Văn Long made strong sprints from the first few kilometres, setting a 100-metre gap between him and the rest of the chasing pack. He maintained the lead for half of the race but other runners such as Lý Phi Hải, Phan and Tuấn narrowed the gap.

The latter three then passed Long to jointly lead the race before being joined by Huỳnh Thái Lộc.

In the last 5km, it was Tuấn and Phan were in race for the finish line as Hải and Lộc had both lost their pace and were left behind.

Phan suddenly sped up and past Tuấn when it was 200m to the finish and took his title in a time of 2:40.57 to strong cheers from the thousands of supporters.

Tuấn was second and Hải finished in third place.

Phạm Ngọc Phan crosses the finishing line.

In the men's 21km, Abraham Getahun of Ethiopia was expected to win following his high speed and cadence since his start.

He set a target of winning the race in 66 minutes. However, things did not go his way. 

Vietnamese runner Nguyễn Quốc Anh caught up with him after the 11km mark and went ahead to win the race.

Vòng Vành Long came second while Gatehun could only manage third, about eight minutes slower than his target.

A runner in cosplay takes part in the fourth edition of the VnExpress Marathon Quy Nhơn Sparkling 2023.

Nguyễn Thị Hồng Lệ was back to the tournament after one year. The former SEA Games 10,000m champion faced no difficulties in the women's race winning with a time of 1:24.46.

Đoan Thu Hằng and Lê Thị Kha Ly were second and third, respectively.

In the 10km distance, Lê Đình Tường and Nguyễn Thị Kim Luyến topped the men's and women's golds.

Bùi Nguyễn Nhất Phi came first in the men's 5km while Lê Mai Hồng Ngọc finished first in the women's class. VNS