Nearly 250 athletes take part in the first sea swimming Ly Son Cross Island tournament on May 28. (Photo of organisers) In its inaugural race, nearly 250 athletes, locals and foreigners, swam in themiddle of the sea paradise and overcame ancient craters and millions of yearsof volcanic sediment as well as diverse coral reefs.
They were guided by a special corridor made of national flags from the start tothe finish of the three-category competition entitled Ly Son Cross Island.
Khoa Sun and Nguyen Thi Thu Trang won the men's and women's 5km, respectively.
Vo Tri Trung and Tran Thanh Binh were winners of the men's and women's 2kmclasses.
Nguyen Dang Khoa and Dang Linh Giang topped the men's and women's 1kmdivisions.
"Congratulations to all the swimmers who participated today, especially toTrang and Vi, my two incredible female opponents. It was an absolute honour tobe on the podium with you both. Thank you so much to the organisers and to the LySon government for allowing such an awesome event to take place! Today wasamazing!" Maxine Margaret Sutton, who finished second in the women's 5km,posted on the event's facebook page.
"A great swim at Ly Son Islands. It is a tough route between two islandsand I met with an ocean current in the middle of the way that forced manyswimmers to face DNF (did not finish) status. But it was really a memorablecompetition," said Luong Ngoc Duy, who took part in the men's 5km."About Ly Son, no words can describe the beauty of the sea and island. Itwas so wonderful, the people are friendly, food is delicious, garlic beer,garlic wine served with seaweed salad is the best. Despite my third placeoverall, I was very satisfied and happy to be able to swim with people."
“I had a special visit to the island. The amazing swimming route, the crystalclear water beach, coral reefs and fish. There are ocean currents and jellyfishbut they are a fun part of sea swimming. I will be back to swim on Ly Son nextseason," said 5km-route participant Nguyen Van An from Hai Phong.
"The highlight of the swimming route is the corridor of the national flags.Swimming while watching the national flag waving made me very proud, feelsecure and love our sea and island more," said swimmer Nguyen Truong Son fromHanoi.
According to Le Van Ninh, vice chairman of the Ly Son District People'sCommittee, the local authority and staff of the Green Path Joint Stock Companyinspected and evaluated the route last year. They then decided to organise theevent after months of preparation.
Ninh believed that sea swimming will be an annual event and a specialexperience tourism product of Ly Son./.
VNA
