• Local talent hunts Olympic berth

High jumper Anh leapt a career best 1.92m, achieving the Olympic B Standard which was enough for her to compete in London.

Anh’s previous personal best was 1.90m which she set at last November’s Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia.

She was one of Vietnam’s hopefuls at the Kazakhstan tournament, although many people had written off her Olympic chances after she failed to come close to her best in recent competition.

Anh surprised her critics with her jump and became the second track-and-field athlete after walker Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc and the last member of the Vietnam team for London.

Apart from Anh, two other Vietnamese also won medals in Kazakhstan but could not grab their own Olympic berths.

Asian champion Truong Thanh Hang pocketed a silver in the women’s 800m with a time of 2:1.70 while sprinter Vu Thi Huong came third in the women’s 100m event, clocked at 11.70.

There will be 19 Vietnamese athletes competing in 11 sports at the Olympics, starting on July 27.

Most of them are in intensive training abroad.

Vietnamese track-and-field athletes and gymnasts will arrive in London on July 10, followed by the rest of the team 10 days later.

The Vietnam team is expected to comprise of 58 members including athletes, trainers and officials, led by Lam Quang Thanh, Deputy Head of the National Sports Administration.