Seychelles colors fly high at Suncheon Namseungryong Marathon

Seychelles colors fly high at Suncheon Namseungryong Marathon and South Korea abuzz about Indian Ocean State

Seychellois athletes taking part in the 13th Suncheon Namseungryong Marathon in South Korea have performed exceptionally, with Simon Labiche winning the Half Marathon for men.

The 43-year-old, long-distance runner clocked the record time of 1 hour 15 minutes and 57 seconds in the race, to come in the lead position in the event held over the weekend.

Whereas in the 10 km race, Keddy Moustache clocked 37 minutes 04 seconds to finish fifth, while in the 5 km race Vincent Confait was eighth in 23 minutes 15 seconds.

The 13th Suncheon Namseungryong Marathon had some 11,544 runners taking part, of which 544 ran the marathon.

The Seychellois delegation also in Seoul was there for the 2013 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo, which kick started in April this year.

The six-month-long exhibition is the first international environment and ecology event to be held in Korea. The expo’s theme is “Suncheon Bay, Garden of the Earth,” and it features 82 gardens from 23 countries at its main venues of the International Wetland Center and Arboretum Zone. In addition to its environmental context, there is also a performance stage, which daily hosts cultural events.

Seychelles has been showing tortoises and 253 endemic plants including coco-de-mer since the expo opened in April 2013.

With a victory in the marathon under its belt, the Seychellois delegation has managed to create even more hype about the destination in South Korea.

Also during their stay in Seoul, the Seychellois delegation paid a courtesy visit, which naturally was followed by a welcome dinner with the Mayor of Suncheon City, Cho Chung Hoon; the Chairman of the Suncheon Namseungryong Marathon Organizing Committee, Park Geun Won; and the Chairman of Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo Organizing Committee, Song Young Soo; accompanied by Seychelles Honorary Consul General to South Korea, Dong Chang Jeong; and Regional Manager of the Seychelles Tourist Office of Korea & Japan, Julie Kim.

It was during their call to the Mayor that he and Mr. Chong agreed to further build on the friendly cooperation and exchanges between the city of Suncheon and Seychelles in the areas of tourism, culture, and sports. The two also agreed that those working on the Seychelles Eco-friendly Marathon and Suncheon Namseuongryong Marathon created tighter links.

To note, with only a few days left before it is officially closed, the expo has met and exceeded its four million target number of visitors.