Assessing ability: Vietnam’s track and field athletes
11:58’ 29/01/2008 (GMT+7)
Truong Thanh Hang (first from the right)
VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam’s athletics made a big leap at the 24th SEA Games last year, with 8 gold medals and breaking 4 SEA Games records; what should be expected of Vietnamese athletes at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing?
Truong Thanh Hang and Vu Thi Huong are considered Vietnam’s biggest hopes for track-and-field. Recently Hang has performed well and has few who can rival her in Southeast Asia.
After taking a gold medal for the women’s 800m and a bronze for the women’s 1,500m at the Asian Track-and-field Championship in July 2007, she won two gold medals in the same events at the 24th SEA Games in Thailand in late 2007, breaking SEA Games records with 2.02.39 and 4.11.60 minutes, respectively. These results are several seconds below the standards to be eligible for the Olympics. Hang will take part in the Asian selection round in April and if Hang can improve her times, she may go to Beijing this summer.
There is also an opportunity for Vu Thi Huong. At the 24th SEA Games, Huong won a gold medal in the women’s 100m and another for the women’s 200m. Her record for the former was just 0.3 seconds less than the Olympics standard.
The remaining track-and-field athletes have little hope of taking part in the Olympics in 2008. Vu Van Huyen broke the SEA Games record for the men’s decathlon, held for nearly ten years, with 7,457 points. However, to be eligible for this summers’ games, he would need 7,800 points.
Although winning two gold medals for the men’s 1,500m and 800m at the 24th SEA Games, Nguyen Dinh Cuong’s results are still far below Olympic levels.
Bui Thi Nhung has a dim hope because the standard for women’s high jump is 1.91m and she hit 1.88m at the 24th SEA Games; previously in a non-event, she recorded 1.94m.
(Source: Tien Phong)