Trinh Quoc Luong wants to regain the glory at MetaSports Marathon Nha Trang

3 years ago, Trinh Quoc Luong was the prominent name of the Vietnamese running village. One of the bold marks on the movement track of the Bac Giang athlete is the championship of the Hanoi night run in 2020 with the parameter of 2 hours and 31 minutes. He also set the MetaSports Marathon (VM) system-wide record. "2020 is the point where my performance and emotions fall," Luong shared.

So far, no domestic athlete has broken this milestone of Trinh Quoc Luong. The record survived despite the strong development of the marathon movement in the country, many new names appeared. Even BTC MetaSports Marathon has offered a prize for the record-breaking athlete, a Vinfast VFe34 electric car, but the owner has not been found yet.

After that tournament, Luong concentrated on his duties in the national team. Injuries also came constantly, causing him to abandon many plans. Athletes on the military track and field staff said that the past three years have been very difficult. Injuries are like nightmares that no sportsperson wants to experience, let alone top athletes. Not only has a great impact on the results of the competition, the recovery is also slow, which has a significant impact on psychology.

In early 2023, Luong reappeared in the movement tracks. He was somewhat cautious for fear of re-injury, but the parameters were close to maximum. "Starting is difficult, coming back is twice as difficult. I think I'm ready for new conquests. The MetaSports Marathon Nha Trang on August 13 will be the starting point," Trinh Quoc Luong said. Here, Luong will face a huge challenge as Kenyan athlete - Ezekiel Kemboi Omullo. His top goal is still to break the record created by himself.

To realize this dream requires Luong to have a thorough preparation from physical to mental. He said he would come to Nha Trang 3 days before to survey the road, get used to the weather, stabilize his psychology, thereby adjusting his tactics to suit the actual conditions and get the best performance on race day.

"As a professionally trained athlete, going to the competition is not just for fun. Any tournament I aim to be in the top 3 finals, so I need to prepare well in all aspects. I dream of breaking the record. Vietnam continent content marathon", Quoc Luong said.

However, he also assessed, with MetaSports Marathon Nha Trang, this competition is quite intense because of terrain and human factors. The 42km distance converges many prominent names in the running world, especially the presence of Kenyan runners who are also ambitious to break the system record.

Not only wary of African athletes, Luong appreciates all the remaining domestic competitors. "Athletes Hoang Nguyen Thanh, Nguyen Van Long, Pham Ngoc Phan, Le Van Tuan, Dang Anh Quyet... are all very formidable runners. The achievement gap between the athletes recruited and the movement recently is very desirable. I appreciate and respect all opponents," he assessed.

According to him, any athlete can create a surprise, regardless of whether it is a domestic or international runner. "The opportunity is divided equally for all. Only when you reach the finish line will you know who will win. Because marathons are tough events, anything can happen. Foreign athletes with good records can still fail because of the very small factor," he said.

The story of Nguyen Quoc Anh defeating the Ethiopian runner at the MetaSports Marathon Quy Nhon in June, or the case of Ha Thi Hau surpassing the African female athlete, winning the night run in Ho Chi Minh City, despite the opponent's outstanding achievements, given as an example by Quan.

Gathering many elite runners with superior and comparable records can significantly reduce Luong's championship chances. But this is what makes him excited to attend the MetaSports Marathon Nha Trang. "Their achievement is higher, which means that I have to try to catch up, from there the motivation to practice and the will to compete is pushed up," he said.

After the 32nd SEA Games, Trinh Quoc Luong has not attended any more tournaments. So he sees this as an opportunity to test and get to know the competition. After the Nha Trang tournament, if his health is stable and does not coincide with the team schedule, he plans to join VM Ha Long next month and VM Hai Phong later this year.

Trinh Quoc Luong (27 years old, Bac Giang) is a track and field athlete, on the payroll of the Border Guard sports team. He has been involved in sports since 2011. In his competitive career, Luong has achieved a number of achievements such as the 10,000m gold medal at the 2015 National Youth Championships, the silver medal at the 2018 National Gymnastics Championships, the 5,000 gold medal m and 10,000m National Championship 2020, champion MetaSports Marathon Hanoi Midnight 2020...

MetaSports Marathon Marvelous Nha Trang 2023 took place on August 13, with a scale of 11,000 athletes. The tournament was organized by MetaSports Newspaper in collaboration with Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee. The running track meets AIMS standards, with a variety of terrain and landscapes, runners can experience the modern beauty of Nha Trang's coastal town from the inner city, to the majestic natural scenery when going to the suburbs, conquering the pass. Paint salaries.