Athletics 

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese runners won two gold medals and set a national record at the second Asian Relays Championships 2026, which ended on Sunday in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China.

Quartet Tạ Ngọc Tưởng, Vũ Ngọc Khánh, Trần Đình Sơn and Lê Ngọc Phúc stunned onlookers with their win in the men's 4x400m event.

Facing strong rivals from India and Sri Lanka as well as their Chinese hosts, the Vietnamese runners were not considered title contenders. Even the most optimistic experts and supporters did not expect them to emerge victorious.

However, the team managed to pull through. National champion Tưởng gave an impressive performance in the first leg, as he and an Indian runner tied in first before giving the baton to second-leg runner Khánh. 

Khánh and Sơn kept themselves in the top three in their races, handing off a tough task to SEA Games mixed 4x400m relay champion Phúc. He spent most of the race in third position. But with just 150m left, he sped up, leaving behind all of his opponents to finish first in a time of 3min 2.60sec.

China took silver with a time of 3:03.23, and Sri Lanka were third in 3:03.33.

The result was a new record for the tournament, beating the old record of 3:04.48 set by Sri Lanka in 2024, and for Việt Nam as well, trouncing the previous record of 3:03.85 set at the 33rd SEA Games last year in Thailand.

The team's achievement has given a big boost to Việt Nam's medal hopes ahead of the Asian Games in September in Japan.

Earlier that day, the women's team also defended their title in the 4x400 race.

Hoàng Thị Minh Hạnh, Quách Thị Lan, Nguyễn Thị Hằng and Nguyễn Thị Ngọc dominated the race, giving their opponents no chance to edge out their top ranking.

Hằng, one of Việt Nam’s top relay runners, proved during the third leg that physical stature is no barrier to success on the track. Despite being the smallest athlete in the field, she surged from third place to take the lead, opening up a crucial gap for Ngọc, who anchored the team in the final leg.

Ngọc was even faster, extending the gap and wrapping up the race with a time of 3:31.16. China were second with 3:32.68, followed by Kazakhstan in 3:33.87.

With two golds, Việt Nam topped the medal tally. China placed second with one gold, four silvers and one bronze. Thailand and India shared third place, earning one gold, one silver and one bronze. — VNS