Lê Thị Tuyết will compete in the Mekong Delta Marathon Hậu Giang 2023. Photo svhttdl.phuyen.gov.vn

Marathon

HÀ NỘI — SEA Games 32-time silver medallist Lê Thị Tuyết will attend the Mekong Delta Marathon Hậu Giang 2023 with the goal of breaking the women's marathon record of the tournament.

Tuyết from Phú Yên Province is one of the best female marathon runners in Việt Nam today. The 19-year-old has just returned from the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia in May where she won a silver medal in her first appearance in the region's biggest sports event. She finished the race with a time of 2:49.21.

Tuyết’s result is enough to break the women's record of the Mekong Delta Marathon of 3:11.31, set by former national runner Hoàng Thị Ngọc Hoa of Bình Phước last year.

Hoa also took a bronze medal in the women’s marathon event at the SEA Games 31 held in Việt Nam last year.

If Tuyết breaks the record of 3:11.31 this year she will win a prize of VNĐ50 million from the event’s organising board. In the case she both wins the race and breaks the record, she will earn a VNĐ65 million in cash prize.

“After returning from Cambodia, we continued to practice at the Sports Training Centre in Đà Nẵng. We plan to have Tuyết participate in the Mekong Delta Marathon Hậu Giang to hone her skills,” Tuyết’s coach, Nguyễn Tuấn Anh said.

The Hậu Giang event, which will start on July 16, will be Tuyết’s fourth competitive marathon race of her career.

Tuyết first competed in the marathon category (previously only specialised in 10,000m) at the 2022 National Sports Games in Hà Nội last December and achieved a time of 2:47.3, breaking the Games record of 2:48.00 set by Phạm Thị Bình in 2014.

Following this, Tuyết won the Tiền Phong Marathon National Championship in Lai Châu in March with a time of 2:54.33 and then competed in the recent SEA Games 32 in Cambodia.

In all the above events, Tuyết had good results, even though the track of each tournament was difficult.

At this year’s Mekong Delta Marathon Hậu Giang, the race track has been recognised by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS). If Tuyết has a good result, she can earn a ticket to compete in the most prestigious marathons in the world.

The Hậu Giang event will draw about 9,000 runners, competing in the categories of marathon, half marathon, 10km, 5km, and Kids Run.

Following the event, about 9,000 new trees will be planted in Hậu Giang to protect the environment and at the same time raise awareness about climate change in the Mekong Delta. VNS