Solving the long-term development problem
The National Athletics Championship will recognize achievements from athletes of the units. However, from the perspective of a manager, we are always waiting to select new faces to invest in future professional development, said Deputy Head of the High-performance Sports Department (Vietnam Department of Physical Education and Sports) and General Secretary of the Vietnam Athletics Federation - Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung.
To evaluate whether a sport is really strong or not, people will look at the level and achievements of that sport in basic sports, in which the achievement for athletics is of the most interest.
In the past nearly 10 years (since 2016), the competition results of Vietnam's athletics have begun to decline in the international arena. We have won two official Olympic spots in 2016 but have not had an official spot to participate in the 2020 and 2024 Olympics. Vietnam Athletics won 2 Gold Medals at the 18th ASIAD in 2018 but did not win a medal at the 19th ASIAD in 2023.
The development of the Vietnam Athletics Federation Project for the development of Vietnam Athletics until 2030 and orientation to 2045 is an important program for us to find investment. The most important thing is to have a source of promising young people who are capable of touching the achievements in the Asian arena, especially the ASIAD - Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung shared.
The 2025 National Athletics Championship will have 480 athletes from 32 units competing. Experts understand that athletics is a sport that recognizes the results of athletes in terms of time achievements and yard and meter indexes on the field. Therefore, athletes are likely to make a breakthrough if they are invested in by specialists.
Finding outstanding young people
Vietnam Athletics has recorded three young faces that have created good professional reps recently: Tran Thi Nhi Yen (100m, 200m), Le Thi Tuyet Mai (400m) and Ta Ngoc Tuong (400m men). They will compete in the 2025 National Athletics Championship.
Despite their young age, all three athletes are already members of the Vietnam Athletics Team. In particular, Tran Thi Nhi Yen was awarded a special chance to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics (France) while Le Thi Tuyet Mai participated in the 2024 World Youth Athletics Championship.
When developing content to prepare for investment in key athletes aiming to achieve high results in the ASIAD and Olympic arenas in the 2026-2045 period, the athletics department (Vietnam Department of Physical Education and Sports) focuses on finding young faces as the core. Through tournaments, managers will select athletes who meet professional requirements.
The 2025 National Athletics Championship can be considered an important test for us to take a closer look at how young athletes (who have registered to compete) achieve their index.
The coach will have a preliminary forecast of the development ability of athletes from professional indicators and by age. However, every forecast will need additional assessment of technical means to make the selection of young athletes for long-term training more effective, said Mr. Nguyen Duc Nguyen, head of the athletics department (Vietnam Department of Physical Education and Sports).
Vietnam Athletics once had young athlete Quach Thi Lan who was found and invested in and sent to train abroad. Now, Quach Thi Lan is the main athlete in the 400m and 400m hurdles of the Vietnam Athletics Team and she won the Gold Medal at the 18th ASIAD.
