Hem Bunting (Central Khmer: ហែម ប៊ុនទីង, born December 12, 1985) is a Cambodian marathoner.
Bunting is one of nine children from a family of farmers in Stung Treng Province. The British Broadcasting Corporation has described him as "so poor he lives in the crumbling athletics stadium where he trains". He won a silver medal in the marathon and a bronze at the 5,000 metre race at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games. He represented Cambodia in the marathon at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, finishing 73rd in a time of 2:33:32.[1]
Bunting had few facilities and little funding to prepare for the Olympics. He trained by running laps on a track simultaneously used by casual joggers, and could not afford to buy running shoes.[1] The BBC's article on him moved one reader to send him new training shoes prior to the Beijing Olympics.[2]
He has made a significant effort in his second Marathon outing of 2012 after finishing in top 50 (42nd) at the Paris Marathon on April 15 with a personal best of 2:23:29. The time also improved on his previous national record 2:25:20 set during 2009 Southeast Asian Games in Vientiane where he won a bronze medal. Not only that, his official intermediate time at half marathon shows 1:09:04, which is a new national record.[3]
| Representing | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | World Half Marathon Championships | New Delhi, India | 79th | Half marathon | 1:19:40 (NR) | |
| 2005 | Asian Championships | Incheon, South Korea | 20th | 1500 m | 4:03.87 | |
| 13th | 5000 m | 15:41.30 | ||||
| 2006 | Asian Indoor Championships | Pattaya, Thailand | 11th (h) | 1500 m | 4:06.10 | |
| 9th | 3000 m | 9:02.00 | ||||
| Asian Games | Doha, Qatar | 13th | 5000 m | 15:19.25 | ||
| 2007 | World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 39th (h) | 1500 m | 4:08.31 | |
| Southeast Asian Games | Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand | 3rd | 5000 m | 14:24.71 (NR) | ||
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 73rd | Marathon | 2:33:32 | |
| 2009 | World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 39th (h) | 1500 m | 4:08.64 | |
| Jeux de la Francophonie | Beirut, Lebanon | 11th | 5000 m | 15:39.28 | ||
| Southeast Asian Games | Vientiane, Laos | 6th | 5000 m | 15:45.63 | ||
| 3rd | Marathon | 2:25:19.68 (NR) | ||||
| 2010 | Asian Games | Guangzhou, China | – | Marathon | DNF | |
| 2013 | Asian Championships | Pune, India | 10th | 5000 m | 16:36.49 | |
| 2014 | Asian Games | Incheon, South Korea | – | Marathon | DNF | |
Outdoor
Indoor