The location where organisers found the body of athlete Thai Don Thanh who was washed away by a flood during the Dalat Ultra Trail on June 20. The tournament was cancelled after the accident. (Photo: VNA)Lam Dong (VNA) - The fourth editionof the Dalat Ultra Trail has been cancelled after an athlete died due toextreme weather conditions.
Thai Don Thanh, 40, from Ho Chi Minh City wasswept away by flash flooding caused by heavy rain during the race in Da Lat cityin the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on June 20.
His body was found later at Dan Kia village,Lac Duong town, Lac Duong district.
After the accident, organisers cancelled thethree-day event. All runners were asked to stop and transferred to the startpoint.
The Dalat Victory Challenge, a terraincycling tournament which was also on June 21 suffered the same fate.
“First of all, organisers of Dalat UltraTrail 2020 and Dalat Victory Challenge 2020 would like to express our gratitudetowards your support and trust in competing in our races,” organisers said.
“Because of the extreme weather conditionsand the unexpected incident during the race that impacts the safety ofoperations, there are risks for athletes to keep racing.
“In accordance with the Lam Dong Government'sinstruction, to ensure safety for all athletes, the Dalat Ultra Trail 2020 andDalat Victory Challenge 2020 will be cancelled.”
Nguyen Tien Hai, Deputy Director of theprovincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said: “It is an unexpectedaccident. Organisers are working with the concerning agencies and the athlete’sfamily.”
It was raining from Friday night in Da Latand the surrounding areas when the 100km race started. The heavy rain causedhigh water levels in springs which quickly flooded race routes and preventedathletes from running.
Many athletes withdrew because of the badconditions but some still tried to finish their run until the official requestto stop was made. There were, however, winners of some categories.
In the men’s 100km class, Nguyen Tien Hung ofVietnam won with a time of 14hr 22.35. Le Tan Hi, also from Vietnam triumphedthe men’s 70km after 8:26.36. Vietnamese Tran Duy Quang topped the men’s 45kmpodium, clocking 4:33.32. In the men’s 21km, Ly Nhan Tin of Vietnam came first(1:55.14) while Anna Fritz of Germany secured top for women./.
VNA
