LookAtVietnam – A Vietnamese high jumper and triple jumper have been awarded wild card places by the International Athletics Federation for the 12th IAAF World Athletics Championships in Berlin on August 15-23.

High jumper Bui Thi Nhung.

“Previously, the country only sent sprinters to the world event, but this year we will do something different,” Thuy said.

“Our jumpers have never had a good opportunity like this to hone their skills.

“Nhung is an experienced athlete, who competed in the high jump at the Olympics in Athens, while Hung is a rising star in the triple jump,” Thuy said.

Hung, 20, has improved enormously in the last five years and last month set a new national record of 16.37m at the Southeast Asian Junior Athletics Championships in HCM City.

“It’s a great achievement for Hung to be the first jumper to go beyond the 16m mark,” Thuy said.

The Hanoian athlete set a record of 15.92m at the National Young Athletics Championships last year.

Nhung had a disappointing time at the International Athletics Tournament last month in HCM City and only managed to clear the bar at 1.85m, well below her best of 1.94m, which she set at the Thai Open Track and Field at Thammasat Stadium in Bangkok five years ago.

Despite a disappointing last couple of years, the 26-year-old athlete is expected to win medals at the third Asian Indoor Games in Viet Nam in October and the Southeast Asian Games in Laos this December.

“The World Championships is a great opportunity for me,” Nhung said.

“I will just try to do my best.”

In 2003, Nhung was the first Vietnamese high jumper to win a gold medal at the Asian Athletics Championship in the Philippines after leaping 1.88m. However, at the Athens Olympics she could only clear the bar at 1.85m.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News