Athletics

The national women's 4x400m relay team will compete for an Olympic place at the Asian championship on May 20-21 in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo courtesy of Nguyễn Thị Hằng

HÀ NỘI -- Any individual athlete or team who gets an Olympic spot will receive VNĐ100 million (US$3,900) from the Việt Nam Athletics Federation.

The bonus has been announced incentivise the athletes as the deadline for the Paris Games approaches without any Vietnamese so far earning a place.

The team with the biggest chance to qualify could be the women's 4x400m team who will compete in the Asian Relay Championship on May 20-21 at the Thamasat University Sports Complex in Bangkok, Thailand.

In the latest rankings they place 28th with a best time of 3:31.61 at the 19th Asian Games last September in China. They need to be in the top 16 tier to get the Olympic ticket and that huge bonus.

The top team at the competition level is the Netherlands who run at 3:20.72 while the current sixteenth place is held by Dominica which ran at 3:27.84.

Teams which stand above Việt Nam are India, the Czech Republic, Botswana, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Spain, Kenya, Australia, Sri Lanka and Colombia.

The Vietnamese runners are in an intensive training course in Thailand until May 19.

Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng, general secretary of the Việt Nam Athletics Federation said: “Runners are being asked to improve their times. After the relay championship, they will take part in open tournaments in Chinese Taipei from June 1-2 and Thailand from June 14-17. These events are the last chance for them to qualify for the Olympics."

Other teams at the tournament will be the women's 4x100m team, the men's 4x400m and the mixed 4x400m.

Last year, Nguyễn Thị Huyền, Nguyễn Thị Hằng, Nguyễn Thị Ngọc and Hoàng Thị Minh Hạnh won gold with a time of 3:32.36 at the Asian Athletics Championship.

In the case of no Việt Nam qualifier, World Athletics will offer a wildcard to the country and that honour will go to runner Trần Thị Nhi Yến, who specialises in 100m and 200m events. But the local federation leader said Vietnamese athletes would do best to travel to Paris by way of an 'official door'.

At the Tokyo Games in 2021, runner Quách Thị Lan received a wildcard to compete in the women's 400m hurdles. VNS