[Myanmar] Burmese Woman Wins 5,000-Meter Race at SEA Games

A Vietnamese runner celebrates winning the gold medal at the 100-meter dash. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

NAYPYIDAW — Burma took gold and bronze on Tuesday at the women’s 5,000-meter race, with Indonesia claiming silver, at the track and field competition of the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games).

In Burma’s first major win in the track and field events, Phyu Wah Thet finished first in the middle-distance race at Wunna Theidhi Stadium in Naypyidaw, while her teammate Khin Mar Se finished third.

In the men’s 5,000-meter race, Vietnam’s Nguyen Van Lai took gold on Tuesday morning, beating out Thailand in second and Indonesia in third.

Burma is hosting the 27th SEA Games for the first time in over four decades, with events in Naypyidaw, Rangoon, Mandalay and Ngwe Saung Beach.

The five-day track and field competition in Naypyidaw ends on Thursday. Finals for the men’s discus throw and high jump, the women’s long jump and javelin throw, the men and women’s 200-meter dash and the men’s 1,500-meter run take place on Wednesday. Finals for the men’s 10,000-meter run, the men’s triple jump and shot put, the women’s discus throw and high jump, the men’s 100-meter hurdles, the men and women’s 1,500-meter run, and the men and women’s 4 by 400-meter relay are Thursday.

As of Wednesday, an overall medal tally for all sports at the SEA Games, published by state-run media, put Thailand in first with 173 medals, followed by Indonesia with 157 medals, Vietnam with 143 medals and Burma with 127 medals. The SEA Games end on Dec. 22.

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