Hoang Nguyen Thanh finishes first in the men's 42km race at SEA Games 31.

He left behind SEA Games 2019 gold medalist Agus Prayogo (Indonesia) in second place with a time of 2 hours 25 minutes and 37.13 seconds, and lan Tony Ah-Thit Payne (Thailand) in third place with a time of 2 hours 26 minutes and 39.66 seconds.

This is the first time Vietnam has secured a gold in the men’s 42km long race at SEA Games.

Shortly after Nguyen Thanh getting the gold medal, his teammates Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc and Vo Xuan Vinh subsequently brought back two golds in the women’s and men’s 20km walk.

As a results, Vietnamese Track-and-Field athletes have bagged 22 golds at SEA Games 31, surpassing their Thai opponents in second place with 12 golds.

On Thursday athletes are competing in more than 20 sports, with Judo, Karate, Taekwondo, Vovinam, Shooting, Archery and Chess expected to bring back more golds for Vietnam.