Marathon

Hoàng Nguyên Thanh sets a new national record at the 19th Asian Marathon Championship on January 21 in Hong Kong. Photo of VIHM

HÀ NỘI Vietnamese runners set new national records at the 19th Asian Marathon Championship yesterday in Hong Kong.

The Asian championship was organised at the same time as the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon which lures tens of thousands of competitors every year.

Running against the best runners from some 45 affiliated regions and countries, Hoàng Nguyên Thanh and Hoàng Thị Ngọc Hoa both finished fourth. They could neither claim a berth in the top three nor a place in the Paris Olympics, but their results made a big bang nationally.

Thanh finished his 42km race in 2hr 18.43min to hold the 10th position in the Marathon Challenge Overall ranking, setting a new height for Việt Nam.

His result was more than 3min better than the old national record of 2:21.51 by Nguyễn Chí Đông at the 2003 SEA Games when he finished second and took a silver.

"I am extremely happy after breaking the national record which has existed for nearly 21 years. I always targeted the national record in all tournaments but failed. Setting this record at the Asian largest event was great," said Thanh.

"It is difficult to describe my feeling now. It is unbelievable. Setting a new national record is much more important and meaningful for me than winning the 31st SEA Games gold medal.

Hoàng Thị Ngọc Hoa makes a new national women's marathon record on January 21 at the Hong Kong's Asian championship. Photo of Bình Phước Marathon

"During my race, I tried my best. I ran with a heart of a Vietnamese and the national pride. Because the Vietnamese running community was behind me and strongly supported me.

"Thanks to my dedicated coach Trần Đoàn Minh Thiện and my teammate Hoàng Thị Ngọc Hoa for fighting hard today with me, setting up two new records."

Previously, Thanh's best result was 2hr50 that helped him winning Việt Nam's first SEA Games title in 2022.

He took a bronze at the 2023 Games before winning number of local competitions through the year.

About two weeks ago, Thanh also set a new record of 1:60.40 in the 21km category at the Việt Nam International Half Marathon in the first day of the year in Hà Nội.

As the first athlete holding two records of the longest marathon distances, he was surely the best Vietnamese marathoner in history.

Hearing that his record had been broken, Đông who is now a coach of Hà Nội, said it was really good news because after many years Việt Nam discovered new running talent. Thanh made a strong effort and did a good job.

Hoàng Nguyên Thanh (right), Hoàng Thị Ngọc Hoa (left) and their coach Trần Đoàn Minh Thiện pose for a photo after their remarkable running achievements. Photo of VAF

Dozens of minutes after Thanh, Hoa finished her race in 2:44.52 to place No 11 in the Marathon Challenge Overall ranking.

Her time was also a new national record, beating the old one of 2:24.09 by Hoàng Thị Thanh in 2016.

Earlier, Hoa, former SEA Games bronze medallist, finished third in the Techcombank Marathon HCM City after topping the Đất Sen Hồng Marathon and Bến Tre Marathon, all in 2023.

The Asian championship was organised at the same time with the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon which lure tens of thousands of competitors every year.

This was the first bi-annual tournament held since the pandemic, and the fifth time that the vibrant region of Hong Kong was selected as the host. VNS