VietNamNet Bridge - Marathons are not usually the strong point of Vietnamese athletes, but Pham Thi Binh’s performance at Singapore’s Greatest Race on Earth last week may change that fact.

Marathoner Pham Thi Binh is a star athlete in the making.

It was Binh’s international debut, sponsored by the Standard Chartered Bank. The athlete faced strong rivals from India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia.

The national runner-up finished second in the South Asia group with a time of three hours, 16 minutes and 12 seconds. Not her best result, but good enough to put Viet Nam on the podium.

“It is my greatest success. Before, I never imagined I could make it to the top three. I am really surprised and couldn’t believe it until [the organisers] handed me the certificate,” said Binh after the race.

Turning point

Four years ago, the Quang Ngai Province high school student won an athletic tournament at her school. She was then selected to be the school’s representative at a district-level competition where she won second prize.

Her results impressed provincial sport officials, who later chose her to take part in the National Athletics Championship 2005, where she finished fourth at the age of 16.

One year later, Binh surprised many with her consecutive successes in local and international events, including a silver medal at the Southeast Asian Athletics Championship and another from the national Tien Phong Newspaper Marathon, which draws hundreds of rivals from across the nation annually.

The talented young athlete was immediately called to the national youth athletics team, who trained her to represent the country in future international competitions.

According to coach Nguyen Tuan Anh, Binh was like a fish in water.

“I must understand her talent so that I can give her suitable exercises, which will improve her technique and endurance, the two most important criteria to a marathoner,” coach Tuan Anh said.

“Binh is an athlete who will get high results in her career. I have discovered her many good qualities. Despite being small, Binh has good endurance and is willing to work hard. She can handle long, difficult practices,” he said.

Her natural talent in combination with her training plan has boosted Binh to success this year, when she won her first gold medal at an international athletic tournament held in Ha Noi. In November, she took the silver medal at the National Athletics Championships’ marathon with a time of 2:59.25.

Binh, 19, is one of four female athletes on the Viet Nam team to compete in four stages of the Greatest Race on Earth (GROE).

“When she was named to take part in the second leg in Singapore, I asked her to complete the race with the same time as she did at the national championship, with ten minutes leeway since it is an unfamiliar route and since the weather and climate could deteriorate,” said coach Tuan Anh.

On to SEA Games

Binh knows that she will meet many challenges, since the professional life of an athlete is usually short.

She is now focusing on the 25th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, which will be held in Laos next December.

“I expect to take a small part in the Games, which are always the most important competition to any Vietnamese athlete,” Binh said. “The remarkable results in Singapore will be strong motivation for me. I consider it as a milestone in my career.”

“Standard Chartered Bank is delighted with the achievements of the Vietnamese men’s and women’s teams. Especially at the Singapore race, where Binh finished second in the South Asia region, in her bare feet, which we think will be a strong encouragement to her teammates,” said Ashok Sud, Chief Executive of Standard Chartered Bank for Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia.

“We strongly believe Viet Nam’s national team will be amongst the winners of Standard Chartered’s US$1 million prize,” he added.

“Binh is a future star. If she focuses she will be the No 1 marathoner of Viet Nam in 2011 and also a competitive runner in the SEA Games,” said coach Tuan Anh.

(Source: VNS)