7,000 runners from 52 countries compete in Da Nang International Marathon
On Sunday morning, the 6th Da Nang International Marathon (DNIM 2018) took place at the East Sea Park in Son Tra District.
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| Runners crossing the Thuan Phuoc Bridge |
This year’s event attracted a total of 7,000 professional and amateur runners from 52 countries worldwide, an increase of 3,000 racers against 2017. Of these, 900 runners competed in the 42 km full marathon, 1,700 in the 21 km half-marathon, 1,000 in the 10 km race, and the remainder in the 5km run.
Most notably, the race had the participation of defending champions Suzaki Yuuya of the 13th Shonan International Marathon in Japan.
In the end, Suzaki Yuuya clocked 2 hours 32 mins and 16 secs to win the men’s full marathon. In addition, Koji Nishizawa from Japan finished second in a time of 2 hours 45 mins and 17 secs, whilst Huynh Tan Tien from Viet Nam came third in 2 hours 57 mins and 3 secs.
In the women’s full marathon, two Vietnamese runners, namely Pham Thi Hong Le and Nguyen Linh Chi, took the first and second places respectively. Meanwhile, Torres Marion from France was in third place when finishing the race in 3 hours 29 mins and 23 secs.
Hiroki Nakajima from Japan won the men’s half marathon after finishing in 1 hour 24 mins and 44 secs. The second and third prizes respectively went to Nguyen Dang Khoa with a time of 1 hour 32 mins and 2 secs, and Doan Ngoc Hoang with 1 hour 44 mins and 12 secs, both from Viet Nam.
Lo Thi Thanh from Viet Nam got the women’s half marathon title when finishing the race in a time of 1 hour 13 mins and 5 secs. Japanese runner Tomimi Nakajima came second with a time of 1 hour 17 mins and 40 secs when Nguyen Thuy Phuong from Viet Nam lay in third place with 1 hour, 21 mins and 20 secs.
The top 3 finishers in the men’s 10km race were Le Dinh Tuan and Le Cong Bang, both from Viet Nam, and Kim Seongwon from South Korea.
In particular, Vietnamese racers dominated all the titles of the women’s 10km race: Nguyen Thi Huong first, Bui Thi Mai second, and Dinh Thi Ngat third.
This year’s race raised a total of 10,000 USD and 37.1 million VND in cash from generous domestic and foreign donors, including Dennis Zaborac from the USA, a war veteran who had been based in Da Nang.
The donated money will go to help the Support Association for the Disabled and Orphans, the Association of Agent Orange Victims, the Association of Disabled People, and some poor families in the city.