Vietnamese runner gets wildcard for 100m at Paris Olympics

Runner Tran Thi Nhi Yen will be the 16th Vietnamese participant at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Tran Thi Nhi Yen (L) is Vietnamese runner at the Paris Olympics in July

On July 4, the Vietnam Athletics Federation (VAF) announced it had received a confirmation letter from World Athletics confirming Yen's universality place or wildcard.

As per the rules, each country, region or territory that doesn't win direct tickets can send a maximum of three male/female athletes to participate in the 100m, 800m and the marathon.

Yen is currently the number one short distance runner of Vietnam after she advanced to the top 100 of the Olympic qualifications. She is also the only Vietnamese athlete to have taken part in the five required tournaments over the period from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, which is a mandatory condition to get a wildcard.

According to World Athletics' statistics, Yen's personal best in the 100m event is 11.55sec, 0.49sec short of the Olympic qualifying standard.

In April, Yen was key member of Vietnam Team running at the Asian Youth Athletics Championships in the UAE. She won two silvers in the 100m and 200m events and secured places to compete in the 2024 World Youth Athletics Championships in late August in Peru.

Nguyen Manh Hung, VAF General Secretary, said VAF nominated Yen to the World Athletics in May after reviewing all terms including her technique, potential and analysis from the coaching board.

Since then Yen, who will be 19 on July 9, has been in intensive preparation for the Olympics.

Yen attracted attention from the National Sports Games 2022 where she pocketed golds in the 100m and 200m events. She also dominated the National Athletics Championships 2023 and at the 32nd SEA Games last May, she took 100m bronze and 200m silver. She advanced to the top eight of the 2023 Asian championships and 19th Asian Games.

VFA said Yen showed remarkable progress from each competition and she could potentially help Vietnam return to regional top podiums in short distance events in the near future.

Coach Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong said Yen's development was great and she had a bright future, so Vietnam could expect some impressive results.

Previously, Vu Thi Huong was unbeatable runner in these events in the SEA Games and Southeast Asian Championships, but she retired in 2015. Later Le Tu Chinh was a strong threat, before she was sidelined because of injuries and has not regained her peak form.

Athletics are scheduled to run from August 1 to 11, featuring a total of 48 medal events across three distinct sets: track and field, road running and racewalking.

Prior to Yen, Vietnam had 15 Olympic qualifiers. They are cyclist Nguyen Thi That, swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang and Vo Thi My Tien, shooters Trinh Thu Vinh and Le Thi Mong Tuyen, weightlifter Trinh Van Vinh, canoeist Nguyen Thi Huong, rower Pham Thi Hue, badminton players Nguyen Thuy Linh and Le Duc Phat, boxer Vo Thi Kim Anh and Ha Thi Linh, archers Le Quoc Phong and Do Thi Anh Nguyet and judo fighter Hoang Thi Tinh.

VNA