Pham Tien San: 'I've been waiting for victory at MetaSports Marathon Ha Long for a long time'

The presence of SEA Games biathlon champion Pham Tien San at VM Ha Long on the morning of September 10 was surprising because more than a month ago he injured his leg with tendinitis while preparing for a marathon in Indonesia. Tien San himself was also a bright candidate at VM Nha Trang (August 13), but at the last minute he announced that he would not attend. Missing many tournaments made him regretful.

Having just recovered, the fact that he won the MetaSports Marathon was even more of a surprise when his opponent was an athlete from Africa - Charles Kipsang. Kipsang proactively split the top from the moment the starting signal sounded. The only person who agreed to pursue Kipsang was Nguyen Van Long. At this time, Tien San remained faithful to the strategy set before the tournament which was a slow start and moderate speed. According to the athlete born in 1991, Ha Long racetrack has slopes at the beginning, especially Bai Chay bridge, so accelerating from the beginning can cause loss of strength at the end. He agreed to let Kipsang and Nguyen Van Long take the lead, while he chased and waited for the opportunity.

"I carefully studied the Ha Long race track and set a strategy to gradually increase my pace so I didn't flinch when my opponents took the lead," the Vietnamese player shared.

After 10 km, Tien San began to gradually increase his speed. The first drops of rain make the weather cooler. The more I ran, the heavier the rain became. According to the champion, the rain was the "key" for him to confidently unleash his strength. At kilometer 18, the athlete from Bac Giang caught up with Kipsang, while Van Long lagged far behind. Both athletes created a two-horse race by taking turns leading for many kilometers.

Halfway through the race, Tien San started to open up the pace. Athlete Kipsang, who came to Vietnam for the first time to participate in the tournament, seemed unable to adapt to the weather's constant changes in slope, so he was overtaken. From km 22, the Vietnamese player took the lead and maintained his position until the finish line. He raised his hands to celebrate the first championship in the MetaSports Marathon system, then lingered at the finish area, high-fiving with many 21km athletes who had finished before. He took pictures with volunteers along the way before going to the medal receiving area.

Tien San's achievement is 2 hours 38 minutes 26 seconds, 6 minutes more than the African runner. "Today is a lucky day, the weather is favorable," said VM Ha Long champion. "When it was time to start, I found out that the tournament had African athletes. It's great that the weather is so supportive. I'm so happy with this championship."

Pham Tien San was originally a track and field athlete, then turned his attention to two and three triathlons. While still involved with athletics, he finished second three times in a row at the SEA Games in 2013, 2015, 2017. At the end of 2017, the athlete from Bac Giang retired from the athletics team to compete in many triathlons. Success then continued to come to him when he won two consecutive duathlon gold medals at SEA Games 31 and 32.

Besides competing for the team, Pham Tien San keeps in shape and competes by participating in many marathons. Previously, he ran 21km many times at MetaSports Marathon. This is the first time the runner community has witnessed players competing in a full marathon at the VM system.

The 32-year-old runner said he had completed his team's mission in 2023, so he felt comfortable participating in marathons. He chose MetaSports Marathon Amazing Ha Long 2023 because of the high level of competition. The champion spent a lot of time researching the system and was surprised to see many foreign champions from the beginning of the year such as Nakajima at VM Nha Trang, Ezikiel Kemboi at VM Ho Chi Minh City,...

"The appearance of foreign athletes is what I've been waiting for. Running with them helps me discover my body's limits, evaluate my form and areas that need improvement to reach further goals," said male runner. speak.

According to the plan, Pham Tien San will continue to participate in the remaining MetaSports Marathon tournaments in 2023. The champion's expectation is to participate in national marathon, duathlon, and triathlon events. international.

The remaining positions in the top 5 men of MetaSports Marathon belong to Charles Kipsang, Dan Quyet, Trinh Dinh An and Nguyen Dang Khoa. Meanwhile, in the women's event, Leo Thi Tinh won the MetaSports Marathon for the second time. The track and field team athlete's achievement is 3 hours, 6 minutes and 57 seconds. This parameter is better than the achievement when Tinh won VM Hanoi Midnight 2022 which was 3 hours 8 minutes 31 seconds.