Phan Thi Ha Thanh won Vietnam's first world-class gymnastics medal as she finished third in the women's vault at the world championships in Tokyo Saturday on the eve of her 20th birthday. "I feel really, really happy. Of course, every gymnast wants to win a medal before any competition. But for me, winning a medal had been nothing but a dream," she said through an interpreter.
The title went to 16-year-old American McKayla Maroney who collected 15.300 points with Germany's 36-year-old Oksana Chusovitina second at 14.733. Thanh scored 14.666. The Haiphong native, who started gymnastics at the age of six, also earned a ticket to the 2012 London Olympics. All individual apparatus medallists at these championships qualify for the Games unless their countries already booked berths in London as teams.
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