Vietnam marathon record holder Hoang Nguyen Thanh considers participating in the Olympics the biggest goal of his life, after five years of continuous progress.
Hoang Nguyen Thanh leads the race on the VnExpress Marathon Ho Chi Minh City Midnight 2023. Photo: VM
"I am very happy to live my passion and devote myself to marathon, and proud to have achieved a historic achievement for Vietnam marathon. However, I am still not satisfied with my achievement, 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 achievements closer to athletes in marathon powerhouses," Nguyen Thanh told VnExpress .
Before participating in the National Marathon Championship in Phu Yen this weekend, March 31, Thanh shared a video recording his best marathon results over the past 5 years. Accordingly, the Binh Phuoc runner achieved 2 hours 38 minutes 40 seconds (in 2020), 2 hours 26 minutes 56 seconds (2021), 2 hours 25 minutes 7 seconds (2022), 2 hours 29 minutes 21 seconds (2023) and then 2 hours 18 minutes 43 seconds (2024).
Thanh's latest record was set at the Hong Kong Marathon in January, setting a new record for the Vietnamese marathon. The previous record was 2 hours 21 minutes 51 seconds, held by Nguyen Chi Dong when the legendary runner won a silver medal at the 22nd SEA Games in Hanoi in 2003.
Nguyen Thanh shares milestones of progress over the past five years.
The qualifying time for the 2024 Paris Olympics is 2 hours, 8 minutes and 10 seconds, 10 minutes and 33 seconds lower than Thanh's record. However, the runner from Binh Phuoc still has ambitions to compete in this competition. "The biggest goal in my career is still to win a ticket to the Olympics. As long as I run, I will always aim for this goal, and always want to devote all my energy to the marathon," he said.
Born in 1995, Thanh's running talent was discovered early. At just 16 years old, he competed in the half-marathon distance at the national championship. 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 switch to another job, unrelated to sports. At that time, the Binh Phuoc runner's performance declined and he lost his motivation to compete. However, two years later, at the invitation of Binh Phuoc's 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 give my best, like the athletes in the world who are still competing at the top level at the age of 40. I really admire them. In the future, my plan will still mainly revolve around competing professionally, sharing my own experiences and motivation with the running community," Thanh said.
To achieve success in the past journey, Thanh believes that coach Tran Doan Minh Thien has had a great influence on him. This is the person who guided him since he was a talented athlete. The runner born in 1995 thanks his family for encouraging him to overcome pressure and difficulties. He also thanks the running community for following and encouraging him when participating in tournaments.
Xuan Dieu - Quang Huy
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