Nguyen Thi Oanh wins the women's 21.1km elite category of the first Vietnam International Half Marathon in Hanoi on January 1. Photo of organisers) Hanoi (VNA) — National athletes Nguyen Thi Oanh and Do Quoc Luat met no difficulty in winning the first Vietnam International Half Marathon, the first sporting event of the year on January 1 in Hanoi.
The tournament was divided into two disciplines for almost 5,000 elite and amateur runners who ran in half marathon, 10km and 5km distances.
Oanh, the multi-time SEA Games champion, led from the start to the end of the women's 21.1km event, finishing first with a time of 1hr 15.23min.
Veteran Chinese Taipei runner Chien-Ho Hsieh and famed Thai marathoner Linda Janthachit were expected to challenge Oanh, but they failed to complete their mission.
Hsieh came second at 1:19.35, and Linda Janthachit third at 1:20.52.
In the men's side, Nguyen Van Lai and Luật of Vietnam and Sanchai Namkhet from Thailand quickly separated from the group to lead most of the race.
Former SEA Games champion Luat overcame his senior national team teammate Lai in the last meters to claim the top podium with a time of 1:07 Lai was one second behind and took second place while Namkhet was third at 1:08.02.
The organisers also held a category for people with disabilities, mainly visually impaired runners. They were escorted by a guide and ran 1.5km./.
