Pressure cooker: Truong Thanh Hang has yet to qualify for the London Olympics even though she won a 800m gold medal at the Asian Grand Prix Athletics in Bangkok on Tuesday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HA NOI — Vietnamese top runner Truong Thanh Hang finished first on the women's 800m track in the first stage of the Asian Grand Prix Athletics in Bangkok on Tuesday.

She crossed the finish line in 2min 2.16sec, winning the gold medal and a US$1,500 prize. However, the Ho Chi Minh City-born runner could not break through the Olympic's B Standard which is 2:1.30.

Meanwhile, Vu Thi Huong finished third on the women's 100m track with 11.79 which did not reach to the Olympic B Standard – 11.38.

In the women's high jump, Duong Thi Viet Anh cleared 1m86, 6cm less than the Olympic B Standard and took fourth place.

The three athletes still have two more chances to attain the Olympic standards. They will compete in the second stage in Kanchanaburi on Friday and in the third stage in Chonburi on May 14.

If they cannot achieve the Olympic standard in Thailand, their final chance is the Asian All Star Athletics Meet from June 30 to July 1 in Kazakhstan.

At the moment, there is only one qualified athletics competitor for the London Olympics from Viet Nam. That athlete is walker Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc, who won a bronze medal in the Asian Race Walking Championship in March in Japan. — VNS