Japanese Sota Hara (second left)takes the men’s 42km event of the Hoi An International Marathon 2017 (Photo: VNA) Quang Nam (VNA) - JapaneseSota Hara and Thailand’s Pujyanuch Prachayanipon won the men’s and women’s HoiAn International Marathon in Hoi An city, central Quang Nam province, onSeptember 17.
Hara, who works and lives in Ho Chi MinhCity, ran the 42km in 3hr13.52 min to win the trophy in his first race in theUNESCO-recognised world heritage site.
“I am so happy today. I have not run amarathon for 10 years,” Hara told Viet Nam News after the race. “It’s also thefirst time I raced in Hoi An and visited the town. The track is very cooltoday.”
Australian Patrick Bugg Stephen came insecond with a time in 3hr21.23min, ahead of Vietnamese Dam Trong, in thirdplace with 3hrs 22.50min.
Stephen’s wife, Kim Bugg, also rankedsecond in the women’s half marathon (21km).
In the women’s 42km, Thai Prachayanipondominated 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 thirdwith 4hr33.6min.
In the men’s 21km, Verdickt Gertjan fromBelgium finished first, while Vietnamese Pham Thi Tho took the women’scategory.
The marathon, which was hosted for thefirst time in Hoi An, drew around 1,500 runners, mostly foreigners, competingin the men’s and women’s 42km, 21km 10km and fun-run 5km categories along abeach track and in the town’s old quarters.
The race was held under the sponsorship ofIndex Creative Village, Bangkok Airways, Greenhat, and FabMotion.
Last year, Index Creative Village fromThailand and Quang Nam province agreed on co-operation to boost Thai tourism todestinations such as Hoi An’s old town, the My Son Sanctuary and the Cham Island-HoiAn biosphere reserve.
Hoi An hosted 1.7 million tourists lastyear.-VNA
Hara, who works and lives in Ho Chi MinhCity, ran the 42km in 3hr13.52 min to win the trophy in his first race in theUNESCO-recognised world heritage site.
“I am so happy today. I have not run amarathon for 10 years,” Hara told Viet Nam News after the race. “It’s also thefirst time I raced in Hoi An and visited the town. The track is very cooltoday.”
Australian Patrick Bugg Stephen came insecond with a time in 3hr21.23min, ahead of Vietnamese Dam Trong, in thirdplace with 3hrs 22.50min.
Stephen’s wife, Kim Bugg, also rankedsecond in the women’s half marathon (21km).
In the women’s 42km, Thai Prachayanipondominated 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 thirdwith 4hr33.6min.
In the men’s 21km, Verdickt Gertjan fromBelgium finished first, while Vietnamese Pham Thi Tho took the women’scategory.
The marathon, which was hosted for thefirst time in Hoi An, drew around 1,500 runners, mostly foreigners, competingin the men’s and women’s 42km, 21km 10km and fun-run 5km categories along abeach track and in the town’s old quarters.
The race was held under the sponsorship ofIndex Creative Village, Bangkok Airways, Greenhat, and FabMotion.
Last year, Index Creative Village fromThailand and Quang Nam province agreed on co-operation to boost Thai tourism todestinations such as Hoi An’s old town, the My Son Sanctuary and the Cham Island-HoiAn biosphere reserve.
Hoi An hosted 1.7 million tourists lastyear.-VNA
VNA
