The sentences of 5 Vietnamese track and field athletes are lighter than proposed

Responding to VnExpress on the morning of June 28, General Secretary of the Vietnam Athletics Federation Nguyen Manh Hung said that banned substances were found in functional foods used by athletes.

`The product is floating on the market so the banned substances are not listed on the packaging,` Mr. Hung added.

The SEA Games 31 women’s 400m hurdles gold medal of Quach Thi Lan (right) will go to Nguyen Thi Huyen (left).

Vietnam considers this as the basis for evaluating athletes who do not intentionally use doping.

Not every case of explanation is successful.

Among the three athletes receiving the highest sentence this time, Quach Thi Lan and Hoang Thi Ngoc have experience in international competition, while Khuat Phuong Anh was found to have two banned substances in the test sample.

According to Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung, these athletes still maintain regular training to prepare for tournaments from the end of 2023, including the national athletics championship held at Mieu Mon, Hanoi from October 20.

However, Quach Lan and Phuong Anh will miss the 19th ASIAD held in Hangzhou, China from mid-September 2023.

Regarding SEA Games 31 achievements, the athletes ranked next will receive medals from the five athletes involved in doping.

The achievements of the Vietnamese athletics team at SEA Games 31 will change from 22 gold medals, 14 silver medals and 8 bronze medals to 20, 10 and 7 respectively. This does not affect Vietnam’s first place in the team.