VietNamNet Bridge – After great successes at the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) and the Asian Games 16, Vietnam’s athletics is preparing to reach new heights, with Vu Thi Huong and Truong Thanh Hang as the spearheads.

A detailed training schedule has been compiled by the Vietnam Track and Field Federation and German experts to help Huong and Hang have the perfect preparation for the Olympic London 2012 and the SEA Games 2011.

For the first time, Vietnam aims to meet standards to attend the Olympics, not to be exceptionally invited.

This year, Huong and Hang will participate in three tournaments to store up points for the Olympics, including the SEA Games, the Asian Track and Field Championships and the World Track and Field Championships. If their performance at these tournaments that meet the Olympic criteria, they will take the official ticket to the London Olympics 2012.

The standards for Olympics in London in 2012 will be made public this May but based on the standards set for Olympic 2008, Huong must record 11.30 seconds for 100m running. Her best record is 11.33 seconds. Experts said that if Huong can improve her starting technique, she can reach the standards.

Huong will have 97 days of training in Cologne and Frankfurt, Germany and will take part in 4-6 track-and-field tournaments in Europe, as of April 18.

After the drilling trip, Huong will go to Japan to compete at the Asian Track and Field Championship from July 6-7,with another Vietnamese athlete – Le Ngoc Phuong.

She will fly from Japan back to Germany for further training and then return to Vietnam to practice at the National Sports and Physical Training Center in HCM City. She will take part in the HCM City International Track and Field Competition before going to South Korea to compete at the World Track and Field Championship from August 27 to September 4.

The Vietnam Track and Field Federation hopes that Huong’s record will be improved after the training course in Germany.

Huong has another chance to reach the Olympic criteria, SEA Games 2011 in Indonesia from November 11-17.

Meanwhile, experts said that Truong Thanh Hang needs to improve her physical health and durability. She will have drilling trips on high mountains of 2,300 and 2,800m in Kunming, Lijiang in China and in Bhutan with the height of 3,200m.

Hang will also join Vu Thi Huong at competitions in Europe, the Asian and World Track and Field Championships and SEA Games 2011.

German experts said that Hang can enter the world top ten of female short-range runners.

PV