First international mountain marathon draws to a close

He was followed by Swedish runner Joakim Esaiasson and Philp Martin Eggold from the US.

In the men's full marathon (42km) event, Yong Wai Cheng from Singapore was the first across the line. Jacob Green of Denmark came in second and France's Nicolas Perret Ducray finished third.

Meanwhile, Denmark's Simon Grimstrup was the fastest in the ultra-marathon (70km), followed by Timo Meyer from Germany and Yeo Joon Kiat from Singapore.

On the women's side, Samantha Janae Young from the US won the half-marathon. Mexico's Carolina Andres Abdo took second and Camilla Nielsen from Denmark was third.

Annemette Skov from Denmark was the winner of the full marathon. The second and third prize winners were Patricia Pei Voon Lee from Malaysia and Sanja Burns of Australia.

Coming first in the ultra-marathon was Shiri Leventhal from the US, who was followed by Camilla Gry from Denmark and Nora Barbara Senn from Sweden.

Addressing the closing ceremony, Danish Ambassador to Vietnam John Nielsen, who also headed up the race Organising Board, thanked local authorities for creating helping to ensure that the event ran smoothly.

He expressed his admiration for the spirit of the runners, especially those from Vietnam.

He said he hopes the event draws more tourists to Sapa as the town prepares to mark its 110th anniversary.

More than 170 runners from 28 countries participated in the marathon.

(Source: Nhandannewspaperonline)