Kim Thi Huyen quickly wiped away tears on the podium after receiving her medal in the shot put event at the 33rd SEA Games - Photo: DUC KHUE
On the afternoon of December 12th, the women's shot put final of the athletics event at the 33rd SEA Games took place. During the event, a Vietnamese athlete celebrated wildly as if she had just won.
A dramatic transformation
That person was Kim Thi Huyen. With the national flag in her hand, she ran around the field celebrating, leading many to mistakenly believe she had won a gold medal. But when asked, she shyly shared, "I only won a bronze medal."
That's all it took for her to burst into tears of joy. She even ran to comfort Malaysian athlete Maryata Nani Sahirah, who was crying on the field after the competition. Once again, the writer was "offside" for thinking the Malaysian girl was crying because of her defeat.
The moment the bronze medalist went to comfort the gold medalist - Photo: DUC KHUE
Kim Thi Huyen shares her joy with Maryata Nani Sahirah - Photo: DUC KHUE
But it wasn't until the scoreboard appeared that they realized Sahirah had won…the gold medal. Those were tears of joy and happiness. And Kim Thi Huyen's actions were to share the joy with Sahirah.
"I knew her before. She's so sweet, so we easily became close. When she cried, I just went to help her up so she could celebrate. I even teased her about being a crybaby," Kim Thi Huyen honestly shared.
Returning to the Vietnamese athlete, this medal represents a remarkable transformation for her. In 2022, at the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam, she had the honor of being part of the Vietnamese athletics team.
However, her competition event at the time was discus throwing, not shot put. Kim Thi Huyen's performance wasn't impressive either. Therefore, she and her coaching staff made a crucial decision: to abandon discus throwing entirely and focus on shot put.
And that's what helped the athlete born in 2003 win a memorable bronze medal at the 33rd SEA Games.
Tears of the third-place finisher
A powerful image of Kim Thi Huyen during competition - Photo: DUC KHUE
At sporting events, it's common to see the winner cry tears of joy, while the runner-up cries tears of pain. It's rare for the third-place finisher to cry, as they probably don't know why they're crying.
But Kim Thi Huyen still cried. On the medal podium, tears fell because it was the first time she had stood in that position. And for another reason, it caused her to be overwhelmed with emotion.
With a performance of 15.92m in the shot put, Kim Thi Huyen broke the national record for the second time in her career. The previous record was 15.27m, also held by her. Recalling her performance, the reporter realized why she was shouting so excitedly as if she had just won a gold medal.
When competing, Kim Thi Huyen is a strong person. But on the medal podium, she bursts into tears like a child. People often say that Lao Tzu once said, "He who knows contentment is the truly wealthy." Online, this saying is sometimes rephrased as, "He who knows contentment is the truly happy."
Kim Thi Huyen's story perfectly illustrates this. It shows that winning a gold medal at the SEA Games isn't always the goal. Sometimes, a small achievement, simply surpassing one's own limits, is enough to bring joy.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/den-sea-games-khong-chi-cu-huy-chuong-vang-moi-la-vui-20251213100522799.htm
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