The 'breathtaking' journey to become Olympia champion of Thanh Hoa male student

By defying the odds with two lines of poetry from the work "Reading the Tale of Tiểu Thanh," Lê Xuân Mạnh brought the laurel wreath of the 2023 Road to Olympia competition back to Thanh Hóa province.

Le Xuan Manh , a student from Ham Rong High School in Thanh Hoa, staged an outstanding comeback and won the laurel wreath in the 2023 Road to Olympia Final.

"My feelings right now are indescribable; I'm incredibly happy and proud to bring the first laurel wreath back to Thanh Hoa province. I want to dedicate this victory to everyone who has supported me over the past period, especially my family and my late grandmother," Mạnh shared.

Manh said that victory requires both knowledge and luck, and in this match, he had both.

Thanks to his composure and determination, Le Xuan Manh "turned the tide" and emerged victorious. Photo: Thach Thao

According to Mạnh, there were times when he scored very low marks, even temporarily ranking last in the "climbing" group. But he didn't feel scared or worried.

“I entered this competition with the mindset that I had nothing to lose, as it was my final match, and I would try my best not only for myself but also for my school and hometown. I'm only slightly disappointed that I couldn't perform to my full potential in the first two rounds. I had planned to dedicate all my energy to the final two rounds, and that really paid off,” Mạnh said.

"Today, when I get home, the first thing I'll probably do is throw a party to celebrate with the neighbors and friends."

Ms. Vu Thi Huong, Xuan Manh's mother, was overjoyed with her son's achievement. One of the most nerve-wracking moments of the competition was waiting for the program's advisory board to confirm the answer to the Literature question that Xuan Manh had given. "At that time, I was nervous because it was a crucial moment, but I still trusted my son because I knew that Manh was very good at Literature and History."

In fact, Xuan Manh "turned the tide" to win with two lines of poetry from the work "Reading the Tale of Tieu Thanh". Speaking about her son, Ms. Huong said that from a young age, Manh showed an ability to recognize letters, had a very good memory, and especially loved history.

“My husband and I often bought Mạnh building blocks and alphabet letters from a young age, so he became familiar with letters. At one year old, Mạnh could already speak. By the age of three or four, he could read a lot about history. He often took his older brother's history books to read and was good at this subject from a young age,” Ms. Hường recounted.

Speaking about his study secrets, Mạnh said that he mostly reads textbooks and seeks additional knowledge online. Mạnh also receives a lot of support from his older brother, Lê Xuân Dương (a final-year student at the University of Technology - Vietnam National University , Hanoi ), in terms of knowledge.

"Back in high school, during those evenings studying with Mạnh, I clearly felt that my younger brother was incredibly diligent and always determined to complete his homework for the day and prepare his knowledge for the next day's class," Dương recounted.

According to his brother, Mạnh has been following the Road to Olympia competition for 12 years and is a die-hard fan of Phạm Thị Ngọc Oanh - the champion of the 11th season.

“That fueled Mạnh's dream of conquering the Olympia competition. However, for a period of time, Mạnh put his dream aside to focus on his studies. It was only when he participated in the "Echoes of Thanh Hoa" competition that Mạnh's dream of conquering Olympia resurfaced and grew stronger.”

"Our grandparents were also fans of the 'Road to Olympia' competition from its early years and always hoped that one day their two grandchildren would step onto the show's stage. However, when I was in 10th grade and Mạnh was in 6th grade, our grandmother passed away. Now, the result is truly fulfilling as my younger brother has taken my place in realizing my dream," Mạnh's older brother shared.

Since elementary school, Mạnh's hobby and dream has been to become a doctor. "When he was little, Mạnh was often sick, so he wanted to become a doctor so he could help his family and everyone else," Mạnh's mother shared.

Besides studying, in his free time, Mạnh enjoys playing football and can play in all positions. Regarding his plans for the near future, Mạnh said he doesn't have any specific plans yet. For now, he will focus on completing his high school program.

Le Xuan Manh surrounded by family and friends. In the 23-year history of the competition, this is also the first time Thanh Hoa province has had a contestant win the laurel wreath. Photo: Thach Thao

Previously, during his journey in the "Road to Olympia" competition , Xuan Manh also achieved record scores. In the weekly competition, Manh won with an impressive score of 345, the second highest score in the 23rd season of "Road to Olympia". Of that, Manh scored 110 points in the final round.

Xuan Manh was also one of the 10 contestants this year who achieved a perfect score in the Obstacle Course crossword puzzle. Specifically, in both the Weekly and Monthly competitions, with just one clue, the male student correctly answered the keyword in the Obstacle Course section, creating a significant score difference with his fellow contestants.

Throughout the "climbing" journey, Xuan Manh also demonstrated quick thinking and confidence in answering questions related to Literature, History, and general knowledge thanks to his good memory.

Regarding this, Xuan Manh said it was thanks to his reading habit. Since the 4th grade, he often borrowed his older brother's textbooks to read repeatedly, so he memorized the content without even realizing it. In addition, he also sought out advanced books to study, further expanding his knowledge. Currently, the male student is also an advisor for the History Club of Ham Rong High School.

By winning the final match, Le Xuan Manh received a record prize of $50,000 (approximately 1.2 billion VND).

Vietnamnet.vn