Sprinter Vu Thi Huong will enrol at a six-month training course in Germany to prepare for the World Athletics Championship in Deagu, South Korea this August.

Meanwhile, middle-distance runner Truong Thanh Hang will train in Bhutan after Tet before she heads off for additional training in Kunming, China.

The two runners have set their sights on earning a berth at the London Olympics in 2012.

Huong, 24, who won a silver medal in 200m and a bronze in the 100m at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, last year, set a national record in the 200m during the National Sport Games in Da Nang last December after she crossed the finish line at 23.30 seconds.

The record is congruent with the Olympics automatic berth criteria for the women’s 200m for the London Games.

The 24-year-old has to clock a time of 11.38sec in the 100m at the World Championship if she wants to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.

In 2007, Huong finished the 100m with a time of 11.33 seconds, a personal best, at the Asian Athletic Championships.

She was also the first Vietnamese female runner to win a gold medal at the SEA Games in the 100m race in the Philippines in 2005.

Three years ago, Huong competed at the Beijing Olympics but was disqualified during the quarter-final.

HCM City-born Truong Thanh Hang, who won two Asian Games silver medals in the 1,500 and 800, needs to sustain her best time of 2:00.91 in the 800 to earn a spot at the London Games.

Source: VNS