The Khanh Hoa Provincial Department of Culture and Sports has just sent a letter asking the Peak Event Joint Stock Company to stop the Arena Oceanman Cam Ranh Vietnam 2023 event because the organiser violated the Law on Physical Training and Sports.
The Arena Oceanman Cam Ranh Vietnam 2023 has been cancelled.
The decision was announced at a press conference held on April 7.
Khanh Hoa Police also fined Peak Event Joint Stock Company 25 million VND on Friday because it showed a map that mislabelled the Spratly and Paracel Islands.
According to the police, on the official website of the Oceanman swimming event (https://oceanmanswim.com/camranh-vietnam), the company had posted a map that didn’t include the Spratly and Paracel Islands with their Vietnamese names.
In the map, which was taken from Leaflet, OpenStreetMap, a private agency, there was a part named Hai Yang Island written in Chinese in the Spratly Islands area, while the Paracel Islands are named Xisha District in Chinese. There is also a part named Nansha District in Chinese which falls within Vietnamese territorial waters.
Besides paying the fine, the Peak Event Joint Stock Company has also been asked to publish their corrections and apology.
The Arena Oceanman Cam Ranh Vietnam 2023 was earlier scheduled to take place in Cam Ranh City from April 14-16, as the province celebrates its 370th anniversary.
The event was planned to include three categories of swimming: Sprint 2km, Oceanman 5km, and Oceanteams 10km, as well as a relay event of 3x800m at Bai Dai Beach in Cam Ranh City.
The Oceanman series, which began in 2015 and has since been held in 23 countries, is the world's largest open-water swim.
This year, Vietnam has been chosen as the host for the first time, with around 850 local and international athletes from 30 countries expected to take part.