Hem Bunting

Hem Bunting (, 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.

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.

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.

Competition record

Personal bests Outdoor 1500 m – 4:03.87 (Incheon 2005) 5000 m – 14:24.71 (Nakhon Ratchasema 2007) Half Marathon – 1:11:47 (Khon Kaen 2008) Marathon – 2:23:29 (Paris 2012)

Indoor 1500 m – 4:06.10 (Pattaya 2006) 3000 m – 9:02.00 (Pattaya 2006)