VietNamNet Bridge - Defending their championship titles at Tien Phong newspaper’s annual marathon is not only the duty of Khanh Hoa Province’s runners, but also an order from their provincial leader. 
"Maintaining our achievements is the top task of all our athletes," said deputy director of the provincial Culture, Sports and Tourism Department, Nguyen Van Hoa.
Khanh Hoa dominated last year’s competition with two golds in the men’s professional and amateur teams, one silver in the men’s youth and two bronze medals in the women’s youth and amateur events.
With these results, Khanh Hoa stepped onto the podium for the fourth time in a row in both the professional and amateur categories.
Top athlete Nguyen Dang Duc Bao, who topped last year’s men’s professional 10km event, will again head the team.
The national defending champion, who played a key role in Viet Nam’s fifth place finish in the Greatest Race on Earth (GRoE)’s South and Southeast Asia regional competition last month, will join teammates Pham Ngoc Hoang, Hoang Van Hien, Nguyen Vinh Thien and Le Canh Minh.
"We are in the final days of training and will do our best on Sunday to protect our titles," said coach Hoang Thi Huyen Nga.
Nga and her athletes wake up at 4 o’clock every morning to begin training. They run dozens of kilometres everyday.
The final members of the team will be selected two days before the race based on their results and spirit, said Nga.
According to Nga, Khanh Hoa’s athletes are young and inexperienced this year, making individual titles a tough-get, but they promise to place high in team events.
Last year, only Khanh Hoa’s professional women’s 5km team failed to grab a medal. They have made remarkable progress this year and Nga said that while first place may be out of reach, making it into the top three is in their grasp.
The three possible names for the team are Nguyen Thi Xuan Tot, Nguyen Dang Thanh Thuy, Bao’s younger sister, and Do Thi Hoai Tram, whose recent results attracted her coaches’ attention.
Khanh Hoa are nurturing a young generation of champions, including 13-year-old Pham Dinh Diem Doan and Nguyen Thi Y Tien, 16, who both were born to families with a history of running.
Nga’s athletes will have to face strong rivals from Thai Binh, Ha Noi, the Army and Gia Lai.
"Thai Binh are determined to take the women’s professional individual title, especially with the participation of Pham Thi Hien, the national 42km marathon champion, who is at her peak after winning third place at the GRoE’s Hong Kong leg," said Nga.
"Ha Noi are home to Nguyen Thi Dong, a veteran 42km race competitor. The team is even stronger now that Ha Noi and Ha Tay Provinces have merged. Gia Lai are also a potential winner in both the men’s and women’s classes. They had two representatives at the GRoE series. Their female runner, Nguyen Thi My Lien, the national runner-up in 2007, is an obstacle on our way to complete our target," Nga said.
Two unexpected disappearances from the Quang Ngai and HCM City rosters have pushed Khanh Hoa closer to their goal.
Defending champion Truong Thanh Hang cannot compete because rules don’t allow free agents to enter the competition and national 42km runner-up Pham Thi Binh is sidelined due to a leg injury.
VietNamNet/VNS
0 nhận xét:
Đăng nhận xét