Hoàng Nguyên Thanh celebrates his win in the men's full marathon at the Vietcombank Mekong Delta Marathon Hậu Giang 2023 on July 16. Photos of organisers

HÀ NỘI — Heavy rain didn't stop runners from setting new records at the Vietcombank Mekong Delta Marathon Hậu Giang 2023 on July 16 in Vị Thanh City, Hậu Giang Province.

Lê Thị Tuyết proved her power to top the women's full marathon category in her first participation.

The SEA Games silver medalist faced only one challenge from defending champion Hoàng Thị Ngọc Hoa throughout the run. They set up a dual race under the rain from the beginning to the end which saw Tuyết successfully sprinting away in the last hundred meters to the finish line.

Her time of 2:59:24 was the new tournament record, 11 minutes faster than the old one set by Hoa last year.

Hoa, the 31st SEA Games bronze medal holder, came second about 30sec later. 

Hoàng Thị Lành was third with a time of 3:35.13.

“Running in the rain is never easy. I was splashed with rain water over my face. The hilly terrain was not a problem for me but there was a piece of the road that was being repaired. It nearly injured my leg," said Tuyết.

"I am happy to win a gold in my first time here. If I have a chance to come back next year, I will set another record."

On the men's side, SEA Games third-placed runner Hoàng Nguyên Thanh made a solo in the race. He separated from the whole group to run to the finish line at a time of 2:37.02, setting a new height of the tournament.

The previous record was 2:37.46 by Bùi Thế Anh made in 2020.

Lê Thị Tuyết runs ahead of Hoàng Thị Ngọc Hoa to win the Mekong Delta Marathon Hậu Giang's women's full marathon class.

Nguyễn Văn Long (2:52.13) and Nguyễn Trần Minh Đức (2:58.02) came second and third, respectively.

"It is a challenging race because of the bad weather and uncomfortable terrain. However, it pushed me up. I wanted a record that I failed to make last year, and I make it today," said Thanh.

Tuyết and Thanh each received VNĐ17 million for first place and VNĐ50 million for setting their records. Thanh also pocketed a ticket to take part in one of the world's six largest marathons.

"I will choose the Berlin Marathon in Germany. It's a world record marathon where Eliud Kipchoge made his mark. I want to test my skills there," said Thanh.

In other categories, Lê Hữu Lộc topped the men's 21km at 1:20.45 while Nguyễn Thị Phương Trinh won the women's class at 1:35.39.

Lý Nhân Tín and Khuất Phương Anh won the men's and women's 10km while Nguyễn Chí Kiên and Nguyễn Lệ Trân were winners of the men's and women's 5km.

The Mekong Delta Marathon Hậu Giang attracted almost 9,000 runners to discover the province's landscapes and its people's beauty. It was one of a series of activities to boost local tourism potential. VNS