Four young runners of the national athletic team will leave for a four-month training period in the US in early May.

Quach Thi Lan, Nguyen Thi Oanh, Nguyen Thi Huyen and Nguyen Thi Thuy of the women's 4x400 metres team have received a US$100,000 sponsorship for their training.

This is part of the Athletics Department's strategy to help Viet Nam win a gold medal at the coming Asian Games (ASIAD) in South Korea in September.

The quartet is said to be the strongest team in Southeast Asia. However, they missed winning a gold medal at the SEA Games in Myanmar last December, as an injured Huyen could not run.

In the last ASIAD in China, Viet Nam bagged three silver and two bronzes.

VNS/VNN