Vietnamese athlete wins world deca ultra triathlon

“This is what a World Champion looks like. Congratulations Thanh Vu!” the official Facebook page of Swissultra said.

The Swissultra is one of the most grueling triathlon races in the world, involving 38 km of swimming, 1,800 km of cycling and 422 km of running or 10 times the distance of a normal triathlon — hence called deca — which comprises 3.8 km of swimming, 180 km of cycling and 42.2 km of running.

Vu completed the Swissultra in 328 hours, 27 minutes and 55 seconds, or 13 days, 16 hours, 27 minutes and 55 seconds.

Finishing second was France’s Nadine Zacharias in 329:27:16 hours.

The other two women contestants did not finish.

In the men’s event, there were 19 participants of whom five did not finish.

The winner was Belgian Kenneth Vanthuyne in 182 hours, 43 minutes and 43 seconds.

Vu, 32, is a running enthusiast who became the first person to run across deserts in a year, namely the Namib (Namibia), Gobi (China), Atacama (Chile), and Antarctic (Antarctica).

She has also completed a 522-km desert race in Australia, a 230-km run on the North Pole and 273 km in the Grand Canyon in the U.S.

In March she told VnExpress her next goal is to conquer the highest mountains in the world.

The 2022 Swissultra was run from August 14 to 29.