The city-born race walkers ranked 7th in Asia Championships
On Sunday, 2 national race walkers, namely Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc and her younger brother Nguyen Thanh Ngung, gained remarkable achievements at the Asian 20km Race Walking Championships 2019 held in Nomi, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.
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| Phuc (left) and her younger brother Ngung are striving to win a berth to Tokyo in 2020. |
Despite having only one month-long practice for the competition and potentially harsh effects of bitter cold, under the guidance of national coach Tran Anh Hiep, the 2 athletes did their utmost in a bid to achieve their best possible performances.
National champion Ngung took part in the men’s event aiming to set a personal best to close in on Olympic qualification. Despite competing against very strong rivals from Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Malaysia, Ngung still ranked 7th in a time of 1:30.15.
This result much exceeded his achievement at the National Sports Festival 2018 as he reached 1:35.19.
Meanwhile, in the women’s event, Phuc finished in the same place as her younger bother as she hit 1:41.50, whilst her best performance before the competition was 1:33.36.
It is a pity as the 2 athletes will not be competing at the SEA Games later this year as the walk has been axed from the competition.
The 2 national race walkers are striving to meet the new qualification standards released by the International Association of Athletics Federations.
To win a berth to Tokyo in 2020, male walkers must reach 1:21.00 while women must recorded 1:31.00.
Ngung was one of two Vietnamese athletes who qualified for the Rio Olympics after recording 1:23.29 three years ago, but he is unsure about repeating the feat.
Phuc dominated the national and SEA Games tournaments for many years. She was also the first Vietnamese walker to compete at an Olympics in London in 2012 where she set a personal best and the national record of 1:33.36.
The 29-year-old is a familiar face at the Asian Championships as she claimed the silver in 2013 and the bronze in 2012. She was a three-time winner of the SEA Games from 2011 - 2015.