Trương Thanh Hằng (born 1 May 1986 in Ho Chi Minh City) is a Vietnamese

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete who specialises in middle-distance running events. She is the Vietnamese record holder over both

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since t ...

and

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athle ...

. She is one of Asia's foremost middle-distance runners, having been Asian champion over 800 m both indoors and outdoors. She was a double silver medallist for Vietnam at the 2010 Asian Games. She has also been highly successful at the

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with sup ...

, where she has won gold medals on five occasions from 2005 to 2009.

Career

Born in Ho Chi Minh City, Thanh Hang won a national title over

in 2004 and began to represent her country internationally the following year, beginning with a sixth-place finish at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships.Hang Truong Thanh
IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-05-06. She won the 1500 m gold medal at the

2005 Southeast Asian Games The 2005 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 23rd Southeast Asian Games, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines. This was the third time the Philippines hosted the games and its first time since 1991. ...

, breaking the Games record and Vietnamese national record, and she also claimed the bronze medal in the women's

. Her next major competition was the

2006 Asian Games 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

and she was knocked out in the qualifying rounds of the 800 m, but took fourth in her 1500 m speciality, improving her national mark to 4:17.66 minutes in the process. At the 2007 Asian Athletics Championships Thanh Hang won the 800 m gold but was third in the 1500 m, behind Sinimole Paulose and Sara Bekheet. Further success came at the regional

2007 Southeast Asian Games The 2007 Southeast Asian Games ( th, กีฬาแห่งเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้ 2007, Kila haeng echiye tawan oak chiyeng tai 2007), officially known as the 24th Southeast Asian Games, was a South ...

, as she completed an 800/1500 m double with national record runs of 2:02.39 and 4:11.60 minutes. She attended no major events in 2008 but won a series of medals in late 2009. She won two bronze medals at the

2009 Asian Athletics Championships The 18th Asian Athletics Championships were held in Guangzhou, China in 2009. Results Men's results Track Field Women's results Track Field Medal table Participating nations * (12) * (1) * (1) * (77) * (22) * (16) * ...

and gained an 800 m

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

and 1500 m bronze at the

2009 Asian Indoor Games The 2009 Asian Indoor Games ( vi, Đại hội Thể thao Trong nhà châu Á 2009), officially the 3rd Asian Indoor Games ( vi, Đại hội Thể thao Trong nhà châu Á lần thứ 3) and also known as Vietnam 2009, were a pancontinential indoo ...

, setting national indoor records at both distances. She retained her titles at the

2009 Southeast Asian Games ) , Nations participating = 11 , Athletes participating = 3100 , Events = 372 in 25 sports , Opening ceremony = 9 December 2009 , Closing ceremony = 18 December 2009 , Officially opened by = Choummaly Sayason ...

the following month, while her male compatriot Nguyen Dinh Cuong made it a middle-distance sweep for Vietnam. She began her 2010 season at the

2010 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships The 2010 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, also known as the IV Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, was an international indoor athletics event took place in Tehran, Iran, between 24 and 26 February. This was the second edition to be hosted ...

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

and was a comfortable winner of the 800 m. The 2010 Asian Games saw her career reach new heights as she knocked nearly five seconds off her 1500 m best to take the silver in a time of 4:09.58 minutes, beaten only by Maryam Yusuf Jamal the reigning world champion. Similar improvements came in the 800 m, where her new national record mark of 2:00.91 minutes brought another silver medal. She was one of only three

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

medallists for Vietnam at the 2010 Asian Games, the others being Vu Van Huyen and Vu Thi Huong. At age of 25, Truong Thanh Hang has 5 gold medals from SEA Games, with the addition of three golds from the Asian championships. On that basis, the 2011 Southeast Asia Games was probably to serve only as a “cool down” to wrap up her busy season, before starting the build-up for the London Olympics. Thanh Hang delivered two gold medals as expected in both 800m and 1500m, clocking 2:02.65 and 4:15.75 respectively. The good times achieved following a closer battle from teammate Do Thi Thao who finished in second in both 800m (2:05.62) and 1500m (4:18.94). At the recent Asian championships she claimed the gold medal at 800m with 2:01.41, winning the silver in the 1500m (4:18.40).Jad Adrian Washif (2011-11)
SEA Games see records tumble; Thailand remains dominant
IAAF. Retrieved 18 November 2011.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Truong, Thanh Hang Living people 1986 births Sportspeople from Ho Chi Minh City Vietnamese female middle-distance runners Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Asian Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Vietnam Asian Games silver medalists for Vietnam Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games SEA Games medalists in athletics SEA Games gold medalists for Vietnam SEA Games bronze medalists for Vietnam Competitors at the 2005 SEA Games Competitors at the 2007 SEA Games Competitors at the 2009 SEA Games Competitors at the 2011 SEA Games Asian Athletics Championships winners 21st-century Vietnamese women 20th-century Vietnamese women 20th-century Vietnamese people