Vietnam gets first athlete in Paris Olympics

By Hieu Luong   June 13, 2023 | 12:27 am PT
Vietnam gets first athlete in Paris Olympics
Nguyen Thi That (C) receives the gold medal at the Asian Road Cycling Championships on June 12, 2023. Photo by Vietnam Cycling Federation
Cyclist Nguyen Thi That became the first Vietnamese athlete to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris after her triumph at the Asian Road Cycling Championships in Thailand.

That finished first in the women’s 109 km event on June 12 in Rayong City. The feat helped Vietnamese cycling gain its first ever athlete to qualify for the Olympics.

The 2024 Paris Olympics has 90 slots for the women's road cycling, of which the host France got two slots by default. 80 spots will be based on the ranking of the International Cycling Union as of October 17, 2023. Countries ranked from first to fifth have four slots each, from sixth to 10th get three each. Countries from 11th to 20th get two slots each while from 21st to 45th get one each.

The remaining eight slots are selected through the 2023 World Championships and the three continental championships in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Countries with first and second-place athletes can send a maximum of one athlete to the Olympics.

That can still lose her slot if anotherVietnamese female cyclist finishes first or second at the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland in August. However, this is considered near impossible.

At the age of 30, That has won a numerous of accolades, including a silver medal at the 2014 Asian Games, five consecutive SEA Games gold medals from 2015 to 2023, and three Asian titles in 2018, 2022 and 2023.

 
 
go to top