Postponing wedding to compete in SEA Games, Nguyen Linh Na excellently won gold medal in heptathlon

The afternoon of May 11 was a fairly successful day for Vietnamese athletics at the 32nd SEA Games with 3 consecutive gold medals from 3 girls on the tracks. First was Nguyen Thi Huyen in the women's 400m hurdles, then Nguyen Thi Thu Ha in the women's 800m and then Nguyen Linh Na in the heptathlon.

On the afternoon of May 11, Nguyen Linh Na entered the final event of the 7-event heptathlon, the 800m event, after 2 days of competition. The winner of this race was Hoang Thanh Giang of Vietnam. Nguyen Linh Na came in second, but with good results in the previous events, Linh Na still excellently won the gold medal. The Filipino athlete won the silver medal.

Linh Na keeps her spirits up on the 800m run

It is known that Linh Na has postponed her wedding until after the 32nd SEA Games. Thus, she has successfully defended her gold medal in what is considered the most difficult distance in athletics.

“This year is hotter than the previous SEA Games and I did not compete to my full potential, so my results may not be as good as last year. This year, my opponents are also much stronger. The gold medal at last year’s SEA Games is also a pressure for me to defend my results this year,” Linh Na shared.

The winner of this distance is teammate Hoang Thanh Giang (blue shirt on the left).

Linh Na is happy to successfully defend her gold medal.

Although she did not win in every event, Linh Na competed consistently throughout the two days. Combined events are always very tough and require athletes to know how to conserve energy and release it at the right time.

At the 31st SEA Games at home, in her first participation, Linh Na surpassed the defending champion from the Philippines to win the gold medal in the 7th heptathlon. Linh Na's teacher in both SEA Games was Coach Vu Van Huyen - the legend of the men's decathlon at the SEA Games. After retiring, he switched to coaching and to this day, it can be said that Linh Na is his best student.

Coach Vu Van Huyen talks about Linh Na's gold medal

“Before this event, Linh Na was only leading by about 20 points and we were all very nervous. I have competed a lot but now I am even more nervous as a coach. Linh Na was assigned to defend the gold medal in the heptathlon. After competing at the National Sports Festival, Linh Na was in pain in many places. The recovery time was very short so today's achievement is very commendable. After 2 days of competition, the teacher and student coordinated well with each other, recovering from injuries as quickly as possible,” said coach Vu Van Huyen.

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