18th int'l half marathon kicks off at Angkor world heritage site

SIEM REAP, Cambodia (Xinhua) - About 7,580 professional and amateur athletes from 75 countries and regions participated in the 18th Angkor Wat International Half Marathon on Sunday at the complex of Angkor Wat Temple, a World Heritage Site.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon, concurrently president of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC), said 4,550 were from other countries and 3,030 were Cambodians.

"The number of participants this year is up 20 percent compared with the last year's event," he said before starting the race. "Your participation in this event from around the world truly reflects your confidence in security, public order, and political stability in Cambodia."

He said the race was to promote sports and tourism, and the proceeds of the event would partly go to local charities, particularly organizations working for landmine victims.

The men's 21-km race was won by Japanese Minoru Onozuka in 1:16: 10; Australian Assad Attamimi finished second in 1:17:40; and American Peter Geithner came at third in 1:18:19.

The women's title for 21-km run was awarded to Singaporean Vivian Tang who finished in 1:27:28; Filipino Janette Agura took the second place in 1:31:41; and British Charlotte Cutler was third in 1:33:36.

In the men's 10-km race, the first finisher was American Anand Parekh in the period of 38 minutes and 3 seconds, while the women' s run was won by Finnish Heidi Makinen in 44 minutes and 38 seconds.   Angkor Wat Temple, the country's largest tourism destination, is situated some 315 km northwest of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.  

The site attracted 2 million foreign visitors last year, and some 1.57 million in the first nine months of this year, according to the Ministry of Tourism.