Great opportunities for Vietnamese athletes in 6th VNG IRONMAN 70.3
The 6th VNG IRONMAN 70.3 Viet Nam, which carries its theme of ‘Embracing Challenges’, is scheduled to return to Da Nang from May 6 – 9, with the official race date set on May 9, following last year’s interruption due to COVID-19 pandemic.
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| Athletes participating in the 6th VNG IRONMAN 70.3 Viet Nam will be on race track which is different from the 2019 event. (Photo: ANH VU) |
According to the organizers of the event, the 6th annual TECHCOMBANK IRONMAN 70.3 Viet Nam in Da Nang is one of the very few IRONMAN 70.3 championships to be held in the world in 2021, and it is also the largest possible half IRONMAN event in the world this year, amidst an unprecedented global pandemic.
The 6th VNG IRONMAN 70.3 Viet Nam will create a "huge opportunity" for Vietnamese athletes to win 50 qualifying slots to the 2021 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship to be held in St. George, Utah, USA, September 17 – 18, 2021.
The upcoming event will also offer two qualifying slots to the World Championship event for one fastest Vietnamese male and one fastest Vietnamese female athletes.
Women For Tri, a program of the IRONMAN Foundation, has awarded this race an additional 25 qualifying slots to the 2021 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship presented by Utah Sports which will take place in St, George, Utah from September 17-18, 2021 through Women For Tri Slots. Women For Tri, a program of The IRONMAN Foundation launched by IRONMAN in 2015, works to increase female participation at all levels of triathlon.
As planned, the 6th VNG IRONMAN 70.3 Viet Nam will kick off on May 8 with IRONKIDS which will be open to children of the two age groups: 6-10 years and 11- 14 years.
Entrants aged from 6 - 10 will be required to complete a 75m swim, a 1km run and a 3km bike course, whilst those from 11 - 14 will complete a 150m swim, a 6km ride, and a 2km run.
May 8 will also see one more triathlon competition, entitled ‘Sunrise Sprint’ which will be open to triathlon beginners. The event involves a 750m beach swim, 20km fast and flat bike course, and 5km run.
The 6th VNG IRONMAN 70.3 Viet Nam will officially open in Da Nang on May 9.
Set amongst majestic mountains and vibrant blue waters, the racecourse is flat, fast, and has an incredible finish line right on the beach.
All athletes taking part in the IRONMAN 70.3 Vietnam triathlon 2021 will be asked to swim, cycle and run a combined 70.3 miles in an Ironman triathlon.
The IRONMAN 70.3 Vietnam triathlon 2021 will start with a 1.9km open water swim on the Son Thuy bathing area.
Upon leaving the water, entrants will climb on bicycles for completing two laps for a 90km ride through Son Thuy bathing area - the route leading to Dien Ban Town, Hoi An City, Duy Xuyen District, Thang Binh District, Cua Dai Beach in Quang Nam Province, and back through the Hoi An City route.
From there, they will complete two laps for a 21km run along Son Thuy bathing area, the route leading Dien Ban Town in Quang Nam Province- Truong Sa Street in Da Nang’s Ngu Hanh Son District.
The race organizers will award prizes to 5 male and 5 female fastest athletes. In addition, each athlete will get a finisher award for completing the race and meeting all time limits set by the race organizers with a medal and shirt.
According to the race organizers, this year’s contest is expected to see the highest number of Vietnamese athletes as foreign ones cannot come to Viet Nam to compete at this event due to the complicated global COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, this year’s race will see a limited number of foreign athletes. It will be great opportunity for Vietnamese athletes to claim winnings from the 6th VNG IRONMAN 70.3 Viet Nam, and win qualifying slots to the World Championship events.
There will be around 40 Da Nang athletes attending this year’s race. All of them are holding high hopes for delivering their best possible results in this event in a bid to promote the name and the positive image of their city.
The beach track and sea swimming route in Da Nang has been as a favourite rendezvous for triathletes from many countries and territories around the world racing in the annual IRONMAN 70.3 Viet Nam since 2015.
The IRONMAN 70.3 Vietnam triathlon 2021 is expected to make a deep impression on participating athletes when they explore the beauty of Da Nang and Quang Nam Province on the race track.
Reporting by NGUYEN AN – Translating by H.L