Vietnamese runners win four gold medals at Taiwan tournament

The competition took place May 27-28. On the first day, Luong Duc Phuoc opened the gold medal account for the country in the men's 1,500 m, with a record 3 minutes and 55.38 seconds.

This result was significantly better than Duc’s 3 minutes and 59.31 at SEA Games 32, where he won silver earlier this month. However, the weather was cooler in Taiwan, unlike the extreme heat in Cambodia, which affected Phuoc’s performance.

Nguyen Thi Hang won the women's 400m gold in 53.75 seconds, a slightly better time than her bronze medal run at the SEA Games.

Runner Nguyen Thi Huyen competes at SEA Games 32 in May 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Hieu Luong

On the second day of competition, veteran runner Nguyen Thi Huyen showed her strength in the women's 400m hurdles. She finished first in 58 seconds, less than the 56.26 seconds that helped win her gold at the Games in Cambodia.

In the women's 5,000m run, Pham Thi Hue was far ahead of her competitors to finish first in 17 minutes 44.07 seconds. Hue did not attend SEA Games 32 as Nguyen Thi Oanh and Pham Thi Hong Le were first picks.

Oanh was originally chosen to compete in Taiwan. However, the coaching team let her stay home so that she could focus on recovering from the SEA Games and prepare for the Asian Games 19 in China.

In addition to four gold medals, Vietnam won the men's 4x400m silver in 3 minutes and 12.08 seconds, along with two bronzes.