Former Olympic champion Naoko Takahashi of Japan will compete in the HCM City Marathon on January 14 at the invitation of the HCM City Athletics Federation.

Former Olympic champion Naoko Takahashi. — Photo japantimes.co.jp

45-year-old Takahashi was the first Asian athlete to win the gold medal in the Olympic marathon event. She won the gold at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Gold medalists from the 29th Southeast Asian Games, Soh Rui Yong of Singapore and Mary Joy Tabal of the Philippines, will also take part in the event. Yong won the men’s marathon, while Tabal won the women’s marathon.

The event will attract the participation of more than 8,000 runners from nearly 50 countries and territories.

Participants will participate in the full marathon (42km), a half marathon (21km) and other events over 10km and 5km.

The event’s total prize is VNĐ200 million (US$8,700).

Vietnamese and foreign runners can register to take part in the race on wwww.hcmcmarathon.com. Updates will be published on the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/hcmcrun/. — VNS