Vietnamese gymnast Phan Thi Ha Thanh on Tuesday snatched a gold medal at the women’s vault event during the 2012 Asian Gymnastics Championship in China, the first-ever gold medal for the country at the continental arena. Thanh beat two competitors from North Korea to step on the highest podium with 14,700 points. This is the highest-ever result from Vietnam’s gymnasts, and also an unexpected achievement of Thanh, who failed to grab any medals at the 2012 Olympics due to injuries. Thanh did not receive much investment for training after the London Games, and was not highly appreciated at the Vietnam National Gymnastics Championship despite her collection of gold medals. “Such an impressive result has proved that Thanh can make miracles,” said Lam Quang Thanh, deputy head of the General Department of Sport and Physical Training. Earlier Thanh also clinched a vault bronze medal at the world championship to win the ticket to London. The Asian event attracts participation from almost all of the strongest gymnasts from China, Japan, and North Korea. Vietnam has eight athletes (including two women) at the Asian champ, participating in three events. The men’s team on Monday only finished fifth at the team event. Thanh and her teammate Thanh Huyen will perform in the finals of the women’s beam and floor exercises on Thursday.