Vu Thanh Long, a sophomore in Australia, has surpassed over 20,000 Vietnamese youths around the world to compete with other international finalists for the opportunity to fly into space in a Unilever-funded program.

20-year-old Long, an engineering and economics student at an Australian university, impressed the jury of the competition titled “The search for the second Vietnamese to fly into space,” sponsored by Axe and the Unilever Group since April 2013, with his physical robustness, excellent English, and great communication skills.

He was also an outstanding performer in swimming, racing, jogging, sea diving, and parachute gliding competitions.

The young man will join Axe Apollo Space Camp in the US along with representatives from 75 other countries. After the training course, the 23 best candidates will be selected for the trip of a lifetime into space.

Long also has the possibility of setting a record for being the youngest man to venture into space. Astronaut Gherman Titov, who made his trip at 26, is the current record-holder.

“Vietnamese people may not be as physically fit or have the stamina of Westerners, but I’ll use our iron will and determination to my advantage,” Long shared.

If selected out of the 75 international candidates, Long will be the second Vietnamese to journey into space in 33 years. Lieutenant-general Pham Tuan was the first Vietnamese, and the first Asian, to fly into space. He made the trip in 1980 with the former Soviet Union’s Interkosmos program.