Vietnam marathon record holder Hoang Nguyen Thanh considers attending the Olympics the biggest goal of his life, after five years of constant progress.
Hoang Nguyen Thanh leads the way on the VnExpress Marathon Ho Chi Minh City Midnight 2023. Photo: VM
“I am very happy to live with full passion and dedication to the marathon, and at the same time proud to achieve a historic achievement for the Vietnam marathon. However, I am still not satisfied with my results and still want to improve further. Hopefully in the future, I will have the opportunity to participate in many international tournaments, at the continental or world level, thereby bringing my best performance closer to athletes in marathon powers," Nguyen Thanh said. with VnExpress.
Before attending the National Championship marathon in Phu Yen this weekend, March 31, Thanh shared a video, recording his best marathon performance in each of the past 3 years. Accordingly, Binh Phuoc runner achieved the parameters of 5 hours 2 minutes 38 seconds (in 40), 2020 hours 2 minutes 26 seconds (56), 2021 hours 2 minutes 25 seconds (7), 2022 hours 2 minutes 29 seconds (21 ) then 2023 hours 2 minutes 18 seconds (43).
The latest parameters were established at the Hong Kong Marathon in January, thereby setting a new record for the Vietnamese marathon. The old record of 2 hours, 21 minutes and 51 seconds belonged to Nguyen Chi Dong when this legendary runner won a silver medal at the 22nd SEA Games in Hanoi in 2003.
Nguyen Thanh shares progress milestones over the past five years.
The standard achievement for selecting athletes to compete in the Olympics, based on the Paris 2024 Olympics this summer, is 2 hours, 8 minutes and 10 seconds, 10 minutes and 33 seconds lower than Thanh's record achievement. However, the runner from Binh Phuoc still harbors ambitions to attend this playground. “The biggest goal in my career is still to win tickets to the Olympics. As long as I keep running, I will always aim for this goal, and always want to devote all my energy to the marathon," he said.
Born in 1995, Thanh discovered his talent for running early. At just 16 years old, he competed in the half marathon at the national championships. In 2015, this runner won a bronze medal at the SEA Games, opening up a promising career ahead. But in 2018, Thanh decided to leave athletics to move to another job, not related to sports. At that time, runner Binh Phuoc lost his performance and lost his motivation to compete. However, two years later, following an invitation from Binh Phuoc sports leaders, Thanh returned to training, and that was probably the right decision.
“I haven't thought about the day I quit running. I want to contribute to the maximum, like the athletes in the world who are 40 years old and still compete at the top. I respect them very much. In the future, my plans still mainly revolve around competing professionally, sharing my personal experiences and motivation with the running community," Thanh said.
To achieve success in the past, Thanh believes that coach Tran Doan Minh Thien's influence on him is very great. This is the person who has guided him since he was a gifted athlete. Chan Run, born in 1995, thanked his family for encouraging him to overcome pressure and difficulties. He also thanked the running community for following and encouraging him when participating in tournaments.
Xuan Diu – Quang Huy
