Mai to run for Việt Nam at world U20 champs

Athletics 

NO BARRIER: Lê Thị Tuyết Mai (left) runs at the 2024 Asian U20 Athletics Championships. She will be Vietnamese athlete at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Peru. — Photo webthethao.vn

HÀ NỘI — Lê Thị Tuyết Mai will represent Việt Nam at the 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships’ women’s 400m hurdles in Peru.

Based on the organising committee’s regulations, Việt Nam have been given an official slot for the championships and Mai is one of two Vietnamese runners to quality.  As 100m sprinter Trần Thị Nhi Yến was picked to compete at the recent Paris Olympic Games, Mai will be the only Vietnamese competitor at the August 27-31 competition.

She ran 1:00.81 at the 2024 Asian U20 Athletics Championships in April in the UAE to qualify for the Lima event. 

Lê Thị Tuyết Mai and her four golds at the ASEAN Junior Athletics Championship in 2023. — Photo baonghean.vn

More than 1,700 athletes from 134 teams are set to compete at the Estadio Atletico de la Videna. Among them, more than 50 were Paris Olympian.

“This is an honour for any athlete because participating in the world youth championship will help athletes become more mature,” Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng, general secretary of the Việt Nam Athletics Federation.

Mai, born in 2006, won four golds at the ASEAN Junior Athletics Championships in 2023. She became member of the national senior team earlier this year after four years training in Nghệ An Province, where scouts had discovered her talent while watching her in a student running competition.

In her first time wearing the national jersey, Mai and her teammates won bronze at the Asian Relays Championships 2024’s mixed 4x400m relay in Thailand.

Lê Thị Tuyết Mai trains in Hà Nội before leaving for the Peru world championships. — Photo baonghean.vn

“I didn’t think I could make a medal, so it is so meaningful to me because this is the first time I compete in an international tournament with the national team. It is a memory I will never forget and one that would push me onto higher achievements,” Mai said.

Later, she won gold in the women’s 400m hurdles in a time of 1min 1.87sec at the ASEAN School Games 2024 in June in Đà Nẵng.

Last week, Mai beat all rivals to win two golds at the National Youth Athletics Championships’ 400m (54.94sec) and 400m hurdles (59.65sec) in Kon Tum Province. 

Coach Nguyễn Đức Nguyên said a detailed plan has been set up for Mai. She is now in Hà Nội for further intensive training to optimise her performance in Peru and will leave for the championships on August 24.

Two years ago, Hoàng Dư Ý was Việt Nam’s representative in this arena. She competed in the women’s 100m event.

In the 2018 edition, Nguyễn Trung Cường took part in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase and Huỳnh Thị Mỹ Tiên in the women’s 110m hurdles. — VNS