More than 9,000 runners from 50 countries and territories joined the Ho Chi Minh City Marathon 2019 on January 13 which was jointly held by the city’s Athletics Federation and the company Pulse Active.

Runners compete at 5km event of the Ho Chi Minh City Marathon 2019

The runners, who competed in a wide range of distances including full marathon - 42km, half marathon - 21km, 10km, 5km and the kids dash, started at Tan Trao street in District 7. In the three longest distances, elite and amateur runners conquered Phu My bridge.

The event also drew 100 runners with disabilities who joined the 5km marathon to raise money for a charity fund.

According to Mai Ba Hung, Vice Director of the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the event, which was first organized in 1992, aimed to promote running habit among the community and the borderless strength of sport in connecting people.

This year’s marathon saw a surge in the number of runners compared to the previous years, including a large number of foreign runners from China, Japan, the Philippines, the US and the Republic of Korea, he noted.

In the men’s full marathon, Che Change Chia from Taiwan (China) came first at 2:35:00, followed by Nguyen Quoc Dung and Le Tan Huy of Vietnam at 2:41:00 and 2:53:00, respectively.

Meanwhile, Dorflinger Simon from Germany won the men’s 21km event at 1:13:51, and Vietnam’s Le Huu Loc took the first place at men’s 10km event at 35:35.

All the money raised from the event will be used to support people with disabilities and Agent Orange/dioxin victims.-VNA