Athletics

Bùi Thị Ngân took gold in the women's 800m event at the 2026 New Taipei City Athletics Open on June 7 in Chinese Taipei. — Photo sggp.org.vn

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese athletes brought home two gold medals from the prestigious 2026 New Taipei City Athletics Open, which ended yesterday in Chinese Taipei.

Bùi Thị Ngân wrapped up the competition with a title in the women's 800m event at the Banqiao Stadium.

The Southeast Asian delivered an impressive performance from the very first stride. Ngân and Australian runner Ashley Pernecker quickly separated themselves from the field to lead the race.

Throughout the race, they maintained a large gap over the other runners. With 100m to go before the finish line, Ngân sprinted clear to cross first in 2min 8.95sec, claiming the gold.

It was her second medal at the tournament after coming in third in the women's 1,500m event, behind South Koreans Cha Ji Won and Oh Hye Won.

The second gold for Việt Nam went to SEA Games champion Nguyễn Trung Cường in the men's 3,000m steeplechase event. Cường stayed in second place for most of the race. After the halfway point, he and Filipino Junel Gobotia pulled clear of the field, leaving the rest far behind.

Then, with around one lap remaining, Cường left his last rival behind and crossed the finish line first in 9:09.08.

Cường had previously claimed the top spot in this event two years ago.

Other Vietnamese athletes also won medals, including long jumper Trần Thị Loan, who took silver with a jump of 6.23m. She was only 1cm short of Indian winner Shaili Singh.

Runner Nguyễn Thị Oanh also took silver in the women's 5,000m event. She was sandwiched between two North Korean rivals. All three medallists broke the old record of 16:27.94 of the tournament.

Park Sol Gyong won gold, clocking 15:47.76. Oanh came after with 16:12.80, and Kim Hye Song was third on 16:23.81.

The last medal for Việt Nam was a bronze that went to Lương Đức Phước in the men's 1,500m, with a time of 3:50.66. He was overtaken by Australian Evander Scott (3:44.70) and local runner Wang Chengyu (3:47.57) in the final 100m.

The New Taipei City Athletics Open was upgraded to a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver-level meet for the 2026 season, having previously been classified as a Bronze-level event. — VNS