Kabashima, Tinh win first Dien Bien Phu Marathon, celebrating Viet Nam-Japan relationship
VGP — Japanese Kento Kabashima and Vietnamese Leo Thi Tinh won the first Dien Bien Phu Marathon which was organised in Dien Bien Province on January 14.
Kento Kabashima of Japan seen on the way to win the first Dien Bien Phu Marathon's men's 42km class on January 14.
Kabashima finished first in the men's 42km category in a time of 2hr 41.37min. He was followed by Dao Ba Thanh (2:44.08) and Nguyen Duy Lam (2:49.36), both of Viet Nam.
On the women's side, Vietnamese took all three top podiums.
Tinh left all rivals behind to take gold after 3:01.56.
Nguyen Thi Linh (3:12.51) and Nong Thi Chang (3:14.57) were second and third, respectively.
The organisers also presented awards to winners of the 21km, 10km and 5km.
The first tournament held in the historical land featured nearly 1,500 international and local runners. They competed in the designed routes that led them through the provincial beautiful and impressive roads and landmarks as well as magnificent natural scenes.
"The marathon is one of activities in the Sakura Festival - Dien Bien Phu 2024 which is to celebrate the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Japan," said Nguyen Quang Hung, chairman of the Dien Bien Phu City People's Committee at the event.
"It is also to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory and the National Tourism Year 2024.
"The event aims to promote the image of the land, people, unique and typical culture of Dien Bien Province. We expect to attract individuals and organisations to come to Dien Bien and Dien Bien Phu for further investment, services, trade and tourism development," he said.
As many as 1,500 runners take part in the the first Dien Bien Phu Marathon's men's 42km class on January 14.
The provincial leader added that race would encourage local people to practise sports and promote the marathon movement in the province. It would improve life quality, health and stature of Dien Bien people.
Through the race, organisers wanted to introduce Dien Bien's people, nature and culture to a large number of domestic and international friends.
During the three-day event, all monuments, museums and unique tourist attractions were open free for athletes.
Runners and tourists also had chance to visit the Pa Khoang sakura area in Mon Village which was about 20km from Dien Bien Phu center.
Amidst the vast greenness of the mountains and forests, the Pa Khoang Lake and colourful sakura were certainly an exciting experience for everyone.
The place attracted many domestic and international tourists to visit since the beginning of the year.
They were also invited to taste local typical cuisine and enjoyed cultural and traditional music and dances with local people./.
