The 32-year-old Vu Phuong Thanh gets to call herself the first Vietnamese winner of the Deca Ultra Triathlon at last week’s Swissultra World Championship. Thanh had to cover a distance of ten Long Distances for that, which means she swam 38 km, biked 1800 km and ran 422 km. All that had to be completed within 14 days. Thanh ended up needing 328 hours, 27 minutes and 55 seconds to cross the finish line.
“This was a very special experience indeed”, she told Thestar.com. “During the race, there were many athletes from many different countries. Athletes often exchanged, shared experiences and inspired each other. Cycling at night also made us feel very sleepy, so we rode and talked to each other.”
Thanh shared the podium with France’s Nadine Zacharias, who needed 329 hours, 27 minutes and 16 seconds for her race. That means she was only one hour slower than Thanh. There were two other women who had started the event, but they weren’t able to finish.
