Thao won the gold in the women’s long jump with an impressive leap of 6.55m in her first attempt. This is also the first gold medal won by Vietnamese track and field athletes at Asiad.
After the golden hopes of the Vietnamese track and field team had failed to be realised on previous days, all the attention was given to Thao, who is currently the Asian champion in the women's long jump with a 6.54m jump last year. And the 26 year old did not disappoint the home fans.
At the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on Sunday evening, Thao made a superb jump of 6.55m for her first attempt. The result of 6.52m in her fifth is even better than the Indian silver medalist Neena Varakil, whose best jump reached 6.51m. The bronze medal went to the Chinese athlete, Xu Xiaoling, with 6.50m.
Thao’s teammate Nguyen Thi Truc Mai had to settle for 8th place with a best performance of 6.19m after six attempts.
