Team 2041 celebrate winning the Kizuna Ekiden relay marathon. — Photo baomoi.com |
HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s Team 2041 from the Ministry of Public Security won the Kizuna Ekiden relay marathon yesterday in Ha Noi.
Team 1224 finished runners-up, followed by teams C10 and Youngster 5.
The race attracted 800 Vietnamese and Japanese policemen, along with non-professional runners from 202 units and organisations.
Athletes were divided into teams of four, and handed over a sash known as a Tasuki to each other as they competed on the 14km course.
Entitled Run for Traffic Safety, the race was co-organised by Japan’s Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, Việt Nam’s Ministry of Public Security and Tuổi Trẻ (Youth) newspaper to celebrate the 45th diplomatic anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations as the world commemorated people who have died in traffic accidents.
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyễn Văn Thành and Japanese Ambassador to Việt Nam Umeda Kunio attended the race.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Governor of Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture Kuroiwa Yuji said he was excited to take part in the race and hoped it would be held annually. — VNS