The team, consisting of four women Nguyen Thi Ngoc, Hoang Thi Minh Hanh, Nguyen Thi Huyen and Nguyen Thi Hang, finished first with a time of 3 minutes and 32.36 seconds, which is 0.69 seconds faster than their result at SEA Games 32 in May, where Vietnam also won a gold medal.
At Suphachalasai National Stadium, Bangkok, Ngoc started first, and was left far behind by athletes from Sri Lanka, India and Japan. But Hanh shortened the gap before Huyen broke through in the third run to put Vietnam ahead. Hang run the last turn, made no mistakes and finished first.
Sprinter Nguyen Thi Huyen competes in SEA Games 32 in May 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Hieu Luong |
The Sri Lankan team finished second with 3 minutes and 33.27 seconds, while India won bronze with 3 minutes and 33.73 seconds.
This is the second time Vietnam has won the women's 4x400 m relay gold medal at the Asian Athletics Championships. The last time was in 2017.
Vietnam is the fourth representative of Southeast Asia to win a gold medal at this year's tournament, after hosts Thailand, Singapore and Philippines. Vietnam team ranked 12th overall with one gold and one bronze medal, won by Nguyen Thi Huong in triple jump.
The 2023 Asian Athletics Championships was held July 12-16 with more than 40 participating countries. The tournament is considered to be one of the qualifiers for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Vietnam participated with 20 athletes.