Conquering the glory of sports

Born and raised in the red soil countryside of Huong Nam, Kim Thach, Vinh Linh, Nguyen Thi Quynh Trang (born in 2006) has overcome many difficulties to pursue her dream of becoming a professional athlete. Having developed a passion for athletics from a very young age, she demonstrated her talent while representing the Da Nang City Athletics Team, achieving high results at numerous national youth age group championships. In 2023, Quynh Trang was selected for the Vietnam National Athletics Team and is currently striving to conquer new heights...

Nguyen Thi Quynh Trang is currently a promising athlete in the race walking discipline of the Vietnamese National Athletics Team - Photo: Provided by the athlete.

Since 2018, Nguyen Thi Quynh Trang has been a familiar name among the few "child athletes" from Quang Tri province who regularly compete in youth sports competitions in Da Nang City. She excels in almost all sports, with track and field being her strongest.

Quynh Trang was fortunate to inherit a family tradition where her uncles and aunts were veteran athletes, so she received guidance, was taken to competitions, gained experience, and learned a lot after each tournament outside the province.

Even before that, when she was in primary school, Quynh Trang had already developed a talent for sports. “When I was little, I enjoyed exercising and playing sports, even those usually considered for boys, like football. At the age of 9, my teachers started selecting me to train in many sports like track and field, sepak takraw, and football... to participate in school sports competitions.”

"At that time, although I was young, I had a serious attitude towards training, high determination, and won quite a few medals. It was from then on that the dream of becoming a professional athlete grew stronger in me," Quynh Trang confided.

In June 2019, Quynh Trang was selected for the Da Nang City Athletics Team. From this milestone, she officially began a new life as she started living, studying, and training at the Da Nang Sports Training and Development Center.

Initially, Quynh Trang was trained to compete in the endurance running event. After six months of training, the coaches noticed her potential, such as her flexibility and graceful movements, and decided to transfer her to the walking discipline. With her existing athletic background and talent, Quynh Trang quickly adapted to training in the walking discipline.

However, according to her, the training of a professional athlete is very rigorous and demanding, requiring perseverance and precision in technique.

She said, "Walking is a difficult discipline in track and field, so from the very beginning of training, I proactively learned from experienced athletes and carefully grasped each lesson from the coaches to ensure I performed correctly. Although I have the advantage of being agile and flexible, my hip and ankle strength must be very strong to be able to compete at speed when walking. To improve my physical fitness, I often combine it with marathon training to supplement my main discipline."

Athlete Quynh Trang won a Bronze Medal at the 2024 National Youth Athletics Championships - Photo: Provided by the contestant.

At 13 years old, Quynh Trang had to get used to balancing her academic studies with a rigorous sports and physical training schedule. However, it was the tears she shed missing her parents and friends back home, and the sweat she shed during her arduous training, that brought this young girl from Quang Tri many well-deserved rewards.

Wearing the jersey of the Da Nang City Athletics Team, Quynh Trang is one of the promising young athletes, consistently achieving high results at national championships.

Notably, she won a Bronze Medal in the race walking event at the 2022 National Youth Athletics Championships; and a Silver Medal in the race walking event at the 2023 National Youth Athletics Championships.

She also participated in several marathons and city-level walking races to socialize and further enhance her endurance for professional training.

In early 2024, Quynh Trang was called up to the National Athletics Team, participating in training for the race walking discipline at the National Sports Training Center in Da Nang City.

In a new environment with many opportunities to achieve sporting glory, she maximized her strengths while regularly exchanging ideas and learning from talented athletes in the National Athletics Team to overcome her weaknesses.

In particular, having undergone several rigorous selection rounds by the Da Nang City Athletics Team's walking group, Quynh Trang basically met the requirements in the advanced training exercises of the coach. She said: "In the national athletics team, the training is stricter and more demanding. There were many days when I suffered injuries, and I burst into tears right on the training field."

However, I was fortunate to receive encouragement, support, and opportunities from my coaches and senior athletes. Besides their experience and expertise in race walking, they also instilled in me the determination never to give up and the understanding of the meaning and value of sports training for one's health.”

It is for this reason that Trang wishes to have more time to return to her hometown to participate in sports events and marathons in Quang Tri. Through this, she hopes to spread the spirit of exercising and improving health to everyone, especially young people in her hometown.

In August 2024, Quynh Trang returned to represent the Da Nang City Athletics Team at the 2024 National Youth Athletics Championships and won a bronze medal in the 10,000m race walk.

“Being named to the National Athletics Team is a great opportunity for a young athlete like me to gain experience, improve my skills, and prove myself in bigger competitions. Therefore, I am trying to focus on training hard to prepare for the 2024 National Athletics Championships in November and achieve high results. I am also working hard to complete my academic studies to continue striving for long-term goals in my athletic career,” Quynh Trang shared.

Hoai Diem Chi

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/van-dong-vien-quoc-gia-nguyen-thi-quynh-trang-chinh-phuc-vinh-quang-the-thao-189102.htm