Vietnamese athlete won the men's marathon championship in stage 1 of the 2024 Indochina Marathon

On November 3, in Luang Prabang (Laos), the first stage of the 2024 Indochina Marathon took place with the participation of 5,000 athletes.

Athletes competed in four distances: Marathon (42.195km), half marathon (21.0975km), 10km and 5km. This was the race with the largest number of participants ever in Luang Prabang. As a result, runner Le Hung Cuong, a Vietnamese amateur athlete, unexpectedly won the men's marathon championship.

Athlete Le Hung Cuong of Vietnam won the men's 42.195km race. Photo: Organizing Committee

Ms. Kieu Thi Hong Phuc, Consulate General of Vietnam in Luang Prabang, Laos, participated in the race and expressed her joy that Vietnam's initiative to organize the race has become not only a sport activity but also a strengthening of friendship between Vietnam and Laos as well as a source of pride for overseas Vietnamese living and working in Luang Prabang.

Viettel Marathon 2024 is an international race spanning three Indochinese countries (Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia) jointly organized by the Vietnam Athletics Federation, the Lao Athletics Federation, and the Cambodian Athletics Federation. Viettel Military Industry and Telecommunications Group is the co-organizer and sponsor, and Asian Athletics is the consultant and supervisor. This is the first major road race with a marathon distance (42.195km) and has set a record for the number of participants ever in Luang Prabang province (Laos). The race attracted 5,000 athletes to participate in 4 distances: marathon (42.195km), half marathon (21.0975km), 10km and 5km, starting at 4:30, 5:00 and 5:15 on November 3, respectively. To conquer the 42.195km distance for men and win the championship, Le Hung Cuong had to overcome two "heavyweight" Lao opponents. He said: "The guys ran very well and we competed with each other in the first 21km. But then one of them had health problems and fell behind. From there, I ran alone to the finish line" - shared the 42.195km champion of the Viettel Marathon in Luang Prabang. Athlete Le Hung Cuong traveled by road from Vietnam to Laos to participate in the tournament. He said he had traveled 30 hours to be in time for stage 1 of the 2024 Indochina Marathon. “I knew this was the first major race held in the three Indochina countries, so I registered to run in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. After a long journey by road, I was quite tired but very happy to be able to participate in the race in Laos. The athletes in Laos ran very well and we competed with each other in the first 21km. But then I learned that one of my competitors had a hip injury and fell behind. From then on, I ran alone to the finish line,” athlete Le Hung Cuong shared. In addition to the majority of Lao and Vietnamese athletes, the race also saw the participation of runners from Switzerland, France, the US, Germany, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, etc../.

Le Quang