Triathlon

Hà Văn Nhật poses with the national flag at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia. Nhật is the best triathlete of Thanh Hóa Province. VNA/VNS Photo

THANH HÓA — Triathlon has become popular in Thanh Hóa Province, with athletes recording remarkable results locally and internationally. The sport is expected to be Thanh Hóa's strong point in the near future.

Triathlon is an Olympic sport and has been invested in and developed by many countries. In Việt Nam, it is relatively new but has been developed in some strong sport hubs such as Hà Nội, HCM City and Military Team.

It has spread remarkably through the country in the past three years and many athletes have competed professionally.

Thanh Hóa joined the movement in July 2022 as Hà Văn Nhật took part in the National Triathlon Clubs Championship held in HCM City.

Nhật was originally a middle distance and half marathon runner, but switched to duathlon and triathlon.

In his first competition, he won silver in the duathlon (10km run, 40km bike and 5km run) despite having only a few months of training.

His medal was considered a good start for Thanh Hóa's triathlon movement, and the provincial Sports Training and Competition Centre decided to establish a triathlon team.

Nhật was the core of the team and other athletes such as Lê Thị Bích, Lê Thị Lan and Bùi Văn Dũng, who won medals from national youth championships, were encouraged to join him.

Hà Văn Nhật (left) in a training session. Photo of Triathlon Team

Under coaches Lưu Văn Hùng and Trần Văn Sỹ, they quickly caught up with the new training schedule and progressed strongly.

In the past two years, Thanh Hóa athletes have made the top three in different competitions.

Triathlon became an official sport of the ninth National Sports Games in 2022, and Thanh Hóa successfully secured gold in the duathlon team event (2km run, 8km bike, 1km run).

After the gold, Nhật bagged silver in the men's individual duathlon event (5km run, 20km bike, 2.5km run). His young teammate Bích claimed a bronze in the women's individual duathlon event.

His outstanding performance made Nhật a national team player competing at the 32nd SEA Games this May in Cambodia.

Two months later, Thanh Hóa sent seven athletes to the National Triathlon Championship and won one gold and two silvers.

The National Sports Games champions proved their power, beating strong rivals from Khánh Hòa and Hậu Giang, to top the podium in the first day of competition.

Later, Nhật and Lan secured silver in the men's and women's individual events.

"We made a good start in 2022 with impressive achievements. My athletes mainly practised athletics before moving to triathlon. Their advantage is that they quickly learn and progress with the professional requirements of the new sport," said coach Hùng.

Thanh Hóa athletes won one gold and two silvers at the 2023 National Triathlon Championship. Photo baothanhhoa.vn

"In addition to long distance running, they have to practise cycling and swimming, so the top priorities are perseverance, effort and hard training.

"They also need additional support in terms of equipment, bicycles, tools for training and competition, and regularly take part in tournaments, which will help them improve quickly," Hùng said.

He added that in 2024, his team targeted to earn better results at the national championship.

Thanh Hóa athletes begin their campaign at the National Bà Rá Mountain Climbing Tournament next month, which will see many elite runners vying for the top podium. VNS