The National Ba Ra Mountain Climbing Tournament is scheduled to kick off on January 6 in the southern province of Binh Phuoc, the event’s organisers announced on January 3.

The annual event will attract the participation of more than 1,200 amateur and professional athletes from 20 cities and provinces such as Khanh Hoa, Hanoi, HCM City and Kien Giang.

Climber Hoang Nguyen Thanh of Binh Phuoc, who has won the event for three years in a row, will take part in this year’s event. Thanh won bronze medal in the 42,195km event at the 28th Southeast Asian Games in 2015 in Singapore.

Athletes will compete in individual and team categories. Professional men will run 7.7km while women will run 5.4km and amateur and youth athletes will race 6km and 4.2km, respectively.

VNS