Marathon  

Kento Kabashima crosses the finish line of the first Điện Biên Phủ Marathon 2024 on January 14 in Điện Biên Province. VNA/VNS Photos

ĐIỆN BIÊN — Kento Kabashima and Lèo Thị Tình were the fastest runners at the Điện Biên Phủ Marathon 2024 which wrapped up in Điện Biên Province on January 14.

Japan's Kabashima finished first in the men's 42km category in a time of 2hr 41.37min, leaving Đào Bá Thành and Nguyễn Duy Lâm, both of the hosts, far behind. 

On the women's side, experienced Tình met no difficulty to take the top podium after clocking 3:01.56.

Her runners-up were Nguyễn Thị Linh and Nông Thị Chang, who completed their races more than 10 minutes later.

In other classes, Lò Văn Đoàn and Lê Thị Bích were winners of the men's and women's 21km. Tòng Văn Hoàn and Khuất Phương Anh won the 10km events. Lò Bảo Tâm and Chu Thị Hương Giang topped the 5km pools.

More than 1,500 runners took part in four categories at the Điện Biên Phủ Marathon 2024.

The first Điện Biên Phủ Marathon featured more than 1,500 local and international runners taking part in the routes that led them past through the province's famous venues such as Điện Biên Phủ Campaign historical site, Him Lam Eco-tourism site and Mường Thanh green field.

The tournament was one of activities of the Cherry Blossoms - Điện Biên Phủ Festival 2024, a cultural event to strength comprehensive cooperation between Việt Nam and Japan.

The local authority hoped that the marathon would help popularise the image of Điện Biên's people and nature to larger community. It also attracted more investors and tourists to explore the possibility of investment and trade cooperation and tourism industry development. VNS