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| Impressive: Japanese Sota Hara (second left)takes the men’s 42km event of the Hội An International Marathon 2017 yesterday. — VNS Photo Công Thành |
HỘI AN — Japanese Sota Hara and Thailand’s Pujyanuch Prachayanipon won the men’s and women’s Hội An International Marathon in the historic coastal city yesterday.
Hara, who works and lives in HCM City, ran the 42km in 3hr13.52 min to win the trophy in his first race in the UNESCO-recognised world heritage site.
“I am so happy today. I have not run a marathon for 10 years,” Hara told Việt Nam News after the race. “It’s also the first time I raced in Hội An and visited the town. The track is very cool today.”
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| Pride: A runner is welcome by her mother at the Hội An International Marathon 2017.— VNS Photo Công Thành |
Australian Patrick Bugg Stephen came in second with a time in 3hr21.23min, ahead of Vietnamese Đàm Trọng, in third place with 3hrs 22.50min.
Stephen’s wife, Kim Bugg, also ranked second in the women’s half marathon (21km).
In the women’s 42km, Thai Prachayanipon dominated with a time in 3hr43.19min, 47 minutes faster than the runner-up, Tamae Harada from Japan (4hr30.7min), and Malaysian Chiew Tai Ong, in third with 4hr33.6min.
In the men’s 21km, Verdickt Gertjan from Belgium finished first, while Vietnamese Phạm Thị Thọ took the women’s category.
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| Women power: The women’s full marathon winners of the Hội An International Marathon 2017. — VNS Photo Công Thành |
The marathon, which was hosted for the first time in Hội An, drew around 1,500 runners, mostly foreigners, competing in the men’s and women’s 42km, 21km 10km and fun-run 5km categories along a beach track and in the town’s old quarters.
The race was held under the sponsorship of Index Creative Village, Bangkok Airways, Greenhat, and FabMotion.
Last year, Index Creative Village from Thailand and Quảng Nam Province agreed on co-operation to boost Thai tourism to destinations such as Hội An’s old town, the Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary and the Chàm Island-Hội An biosphere reserve.
Hội An hosted 1.7 million tourists last year. — VNS
