Truong Thanh Hang won a gold medal for Vietnam at the fourth Asian Indoor Athletics Championships being held in Tehran, Iran on Feb. 25.
The HCM City-born runner finished first in the women's 800m event with a time of 2min 12.75sec.
Hang, who has made a name for herself in Asia over recent years, met with no real opposition as she quickly opened a commanding lead. She extended her lead as the race went on and she crossed the finishing line more than 10 seconds ahead of her nearest rival.
Host athletes, Fahemeh Kalhoor and Mina Porseyfi came second and third with times of 2:24.11 and 2:25.87, respectively.
Hang, who it has been said was born to run, has been the Vietnamese and Southeast Asian champion for years in not only the 800m but also the 1,500m, and has been known to run the 3km event.
She has also won outdoor medals at the Asian Athletics Championship and Asian Grand Prix tournaments.
Hang first competed in an indoor championship at the third Asian Indoor Games (AIG) last November in Vietnam where she pocketed two silvers.
The Vietnamese golden hope is expected to taste more glory in the 1,500m today.
Hang is one of three Vietnamese athletes at the championship.
Three-time Southeast Asian (SEA) Games champion Vu Van Huyen was also in action in the heptathlon yesterday, the final events of which, finish today.
Earlier on Wednesday, Duong Thi Viet Anh finished fourth in the high jump after her leap of 1.83m.
Anh failed to make a repeat of her performance in last December's SEA Games where she jumped 1.88m and won a bronze medal.
Marina Aitova, the world and Olympic finalist from Kazakhstan, clinched the title with an impressive 1.93m effort. Her teammate Anna Ustinova retained her silver medal position from Doha 2008 with a moderate 1.86m.
In other women's events, another Kazakh, Verner Oksana, won her maiden indoor title in the 3,000m with a modest 9:39.35.
The Chinese women took the top two spots in the 60m. Jiang Lan, the national junior record holder and fifth at last year's AIG, overcame the challenge from compatriot Han Ling to win the event in 7.51.
The result of the 60m made Vietnamese experts regret that Vu Thi Huong was unable to compete. Ling's winning time was a lot slower than Huong's 7.24, the new AIG record that she set three months ago.
