The closing ceremony and award ceremony was honored to welcome the leaders of Ho Chi Minh City - the steering agency of the tournament: Mr. Nguyen Van Dung - Member of the City Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee, Mr. Pham Huy Binh - Director of the Department of Tourism , Mr. Nguyen Trung Hinh - Vice President of the Vietnam Athletics Federation, Vice President and General Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Athletics Federation with the presence of leaders of Departments, Boards, Branches, partners, sponsors, guests and athletes.
Notably, this year’s season witnessed impressive performances from Vietnamese athletes competing with many international athletes. Among them, athlete Pham Thi Hong Le won the championship in the women’s marathon.
In the men's category, the half marathon distance, the intense competition at the finish line between champion Duong Minh Hung and Pham Ngoc Phan - with the result being less than 1 second apart, finishing close at 1:09:25, became the highlight of the 2025 season. At the same time, the race recorded a significant increase in the number of young athletes participating in the 5km and 10km distances, reflecting the strong attraction and increasingly widespread spread of the race in the community.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Pham Huy Binh, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, said: “With its growing scale and influence, the Techcombank Ho Chi Minh City International Marathon has become a typical tourism product of the city. The combination of sports, culture and tourism creates a unique highlight, contributing to attracting tourists, enhancing experiences and affirming the Ho Chi Minh City brand on the regional tourism map.”
Ms. Thai Minh Diem Tu, Director of Marketing at Techcombank, shared: “For nearly a decade, Techcombank has been a companion in creating a foundation for healthy living through the Techcombank Ho Chi Minh City International Marathon, spreading the spirit of “Running for a superior Vietnam”, joining hands to build a healthy, prosperous and happy community. And these are also positive contributions to realizing Resolution 72-NQ/TW of the Politburo on improving people's stature, longevity and physical activity rate, helping Vietnam develop more strongly in the era of national development.”
This year’s season continues to show the clear maturity of the Vietnamese marathon movement. Professional quality has been raised as the race track gathers many experienced faces alongside a force of young, rising athletes… creating a more competitive season than ever. The fact that many groups and clubs choose the tournament as their main competition goal also contributes to improving the level of preparation, training discipline and competition strategy in the community.
In the men's Marathon (42.195 km), the competition was fierce until the last kilometers. Ayalew Seleshi Simaneh from Ethiopia made a strong sprint to finish first in 2:23:13, winning the overall title. Wondale Melsew Baye followed in second, while Kebede Leta Girma from Ethiopia finished in third place in 2:23:25 and 2:23:34. The remaining two positions in the Top 5 belonged to Damte Wendwesen Tilahun from Ethiopia in 2:23:54 and Kenyan Kogei Hosea in 2:24:34, ending the marathon race in a dramatic way.
In the women's Marathon, athlete Pham Thi Hong Le overcame a series of strong opponents to finish first with a time of 2:48:10. The next three positions respectively belonged to Ethiopian athletes: Mohamed Yenework Husen, Birehan Marta Tinsae and Zega Mestu Sirabzu. Fifth place belonged to athlete Doan Oanh. The performance of the two Vietnamese athletes among the international athletes demonstrated the competitiveness and breakthrough of the country's athletes, creating a proud moment for the audience.
After hours of intense competition, the season ended with 108 athletes, community clubs and businesses achieving outstanding results being honored in the overall and age group categories.
Overall first place in the Marathon, female athlete Pham Thi Hong Le, shared at the finish line: “Today’s victory is not only for me, but also an affirmation of the Vietnamese people’s perseverance. I am very proud to compete in an international marathon right in my homeland. I believe that events like this will continue to nurture the young generation of athletes, helping Vietnamese sports become more professional, sustainable and full of ambition.”
The 8th Techcombank Ho Chi Minh City International Marathon continues to demonstrate the far-reaching impact of a national-scale community sporting event of international standards. The success of the season comes from the close coordination between the city government, Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) - Strategic Sponsor, organizer Sunrise Events Vietnam and accompanying partners. This cooperation creates a solid foundation for the race to continuously improve quality, expand scale, reach regional level and spread positive values to the community.
Source: https://cand.com.vn/the-thao/khang-dinh-tam-voc-quoc-te-quy-mo-hang-dau-viet-nam-va-vi-the-giai-chay-bieu-trung-cua-thanh-pho-i790417/
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