Two Vietnamese runners qualify for Boston Marathon

Dinh Huynh Linh and Nguyen Tien Hung received confirmation last week that their entries had been accepted. 

The world's oldest annual marathon will be hosted by several cities in Greater Boston on April 20 next year.

Linh, a doctor working at the Vietnam National Heart Institute in Hanoi, attained eligibility for the race by finishing the 2019 Seoul Marathon last March in 2 hours 56.18 minutes.

Hung, who works at a military factory in the northern province of Phu Tho, qualified by winning the 2018 Long Bien Marathon in Vietnam in a time of 2:43.06.

Hung started running to lose weight, but within three years became a semi-professional athlete.

His personal best was two hours 43 minutes and seven seconds at Hanoi's Long Bien Marathon 2018, a race he won.

"Racing in a prestigious international event like the Boston Marathon is a dream for all runners. I am very proud to qualify for Boston from a local marathon contest. And I have been making training plans to prepare for the race," he told VnExpress International.

According to the Boston Athletics Association, runners must achieve times corresponding to their age and gender to qualify for the marathon.

The times must be achieved in an outdoor marathon accredited by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races or the International Association of Athletics Federations.

Thus, while many Vietnamese runners have achieved the qualifying times, they were not at accredited events.

Last year Nguyen Linh Chi of Ho Chi Minh City became the first ever Vietnamese to compete the Boston Marathon. She reached the finish line in a time of three hours, nine minutes and 31 seconds.

On April 15, 2013, double bombings near the finish line of the Boston Marathon killed three people and injured at least 264. The bombing was one of the highest-profile attacks on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001.