First Vietnamese athlete wins world's toughest triathlon championship

The Swissultra covers 10 times the distance of a normal triathlon. It included 38km swimming, 1,800km cycling and 422km running.

Thanh finished first in over 14 days in the women's category which ended on August 29, clocking 328 hours 27 minutes and 55 seconds, about an hour faster than her closest rival, Nadine Zacharias of France.

Thanh was the only representative of Viet Nam and Asia at the extremely challenging event which lured 23 athletes worldwide, 19 men and four women.

Zacharias finished in second place in 329 hours, 27 minutes and 16 seconds. The other two women failed to complete the race.

On the men's side, Kenneth Vanthuyne of Belgium championed the tournament, completing his race in just eight days. Five athletes did not finish.

Thanh, 32, won a cash prize of 1,000 euro (approximately US$1,000).

"I went on the most intensive, testing, unimaginable 2-week crash diet but unfortunately did not lose much weight," Thanh posted on her facebook

"The International Ultra Triathlon Association world champion title is the consolation price. That will do too."

Thanh burst into tears sometimes during the Deca Ultratriathon World Championship 2022 due to fierce and frustrating challenges. However, she felt honored and proud to be able to participate in the race and explore her limits.

Thanh also posted that there were a lot of ups and downs in these races. Sometimes something could be both and if there was a way to enjoy even the bad, the process is much more enjoyable.

Despite huge challenge and obstacle, Thanh said it was a special experience as athletes not only raced but also exchanged, shared experiences and inspired each other. Cycling at night also made us feel very sleepy, so they rode and talked to each other.

Born in 1990 and raised in Ha Noi, Thanh studied in Singapore, Canada, and the UK before working as a financial analyst at Bloomberg in Singapore.

In 2015, she quit the Bloomberg job and started conquering marathon and triathlon competitions. 

Thanh is dubbed "the girl who runs around the world".

She was the first Asian to run through the four harshest deserts in the world with a total distance of 1,000km, namely the Atacama Desert in Chile, Gobi Desert in China, Sahara Desert in North Africa, and the Antarctica Desert in Antarctica in 2016.

Locally, Thanh also completed the 100km distance at the Vietnam Mountain Marathon in Sa Pa and the Ironman 70.3 Vietnam.

Most recently, Thanh Vu completed a challenging mountain race at Everest Trail Race./.