Marathon

The top five athletes of the men's 42km category receive their bonuses of the Techcombank Hanoi Marathon on September 17. Photos of SEV

HÀ NỘI — Kenyan Koros Johnstone Chesire and Ugandan Chemutai Immaculate won gold medals in the second Techcombank Hanoi Marathon on September 17.

Chesire finished the 42km category in a time of 2hr 30.30min in which he passed through the city's most famous landmarks such as Hoàn Kiếm Lake, Opera House and the Mausoleum of President Hồ Chí Minh.

He was followed by Vietnamese former SEA Games champion Hoàng Nguyên Thanh (2:31.43) and Ezekiel Kemboi Kipruto of Kenya (2:32.11).

In the women's race, Immaculate came first in a time of 2:48.30, beating all strong rivals to take the VNĐ70 million (US$2,900) award.

Tsega Desta Mehari of Ethiopia (2:48.30) and Phạm Thị Hồng Lệ of Việt Nam (2:55.32) came second and third, respectively.

In the 21km category, SEA Games duathlon champion Phạm Tiến Sản topped the men’s podium clocking 1:16.29.

Filip Jańczak of Poland was second and Lê Tiến Long of Việt Nam was third.

Bùi Thị Thu Hà, Nguyễn Thị Thành and Nguyễn Thị Thanh Phúc were the top three female finishers.

Organisers also presented awards to winners of the men's and women's 10km and 5km categories.

Also at the tournament, the organising board, representatives of Hà Nội and many athletes observed a moment of silence to remember the victims of the recent tragic fire.

"On behalf of all Techcombank employees, I would like to send my deepest condolences to the families, relatives, and friends of the victims of the recent fire," Jens Lottner, CEO of title sponsor Techcombank, said.

"Techcombank would like to contribute VNĐ1.1 billion to partly share the loss of the families of victims in the fire in Hà Nội and flash flood in Lào Cai. This is also the sporting spirit of sharing, as well as Techcombank's commitment on the journey to promote a proactive, healthy and positive lifestyle for the community."

As many as 9,000 athletes ran in the second Techcombank Hanoi Marathon on September 17 in Hà Nội.

Phạm Xuân Tài, deputy director of the municipal Department of Culture and Sports, added: "The marathon takes place at a time when the whole country is looking towards Hà Nội.

"The race is a symbol of the spirit of solidarity and community cohesion of the city, and is also an important activity that contributes to raising awareness for personal health protection, joining hands for community responsibility".

Throughout the event which saw 9,000 runners, organisers held a talk show 'Empower Run' to share the difficulties for women on their running journey while also helping promote women's independence and confidence in participating in activities to conquer endurance sports.

Along with that, the 'Kids Talk' workshop gave families the opportunity to bond between parents and children. VNS