Willpower on the green track

Go down to the water to get "gold"

Visiting the small house of disabled athlete Trinh Thi Bich Nhu (born in 1985) in Thanh Tri commune, Tan Hiep district, Kien Giang province (old), many people were moved by the difficult situation of the couple. Her husband, Mr. Viet Thach, is also a disabled swimmer, now retired and mainly teaches swimming to children to make a living, with an unstable income.

In the house with stained corrugated iron walls, Bich Nhu's greatest assets are none other than the national and international medals hung up solemnly. Every time she thinks about her fate, unable to hold back her tears, Bich Nhu touches the medals so that they make a jingling sound, helping her love life more and overcome her unfortunate fate.

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Bich Nhu attends ASEAN Para Games 2023 in Hangzhou City (China) - PHOTO: NVCC

The 12th ASEAN Para Games held in Phnom Penh was a very memorable Para Games for Nhu. In the S6 disability category of 100m freestyle swimming, Nhu finished first with a time of 1 minute 23.77 seconds and won the gold medal. Exactly 13 years ago, at the first ASEAN Para Games held in Indonesia, Nhu also won the gold medal.

At the 12th ASEAN Para Games, despite being 38 years old, the golden girl Trinh Thi Bich Nhu still won 5 individual gold medals, 1 relay silver medal and broke 3 records in the 50m butterfly, 100m freestyle and 100m breaststroke.

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Bich Nhu received the Shining Vietnamese Willpower Award 2023 presented by the Vietnam Youth Union - PHOTO: NVCC

While earning a living by doing jobs at home such as processing electronic chips, sewing, knitting..., Bich Nhu still tries to maintain her physical strength and form to participate in annual tournaments. In 2015, Bich Nhu created an earthquake for Vietnamese disabled sports when she won a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke in the SB5 disability category (paralysis, complete loss of function of both lower limbs) at the 2015 World Para Swimming Championships held in Glasgow (Scotland) with a time of 1 minute 57.43 seconds, then Nhu won another silver medal at the 2017 World Para Swimming Championships held in Mexico.

Despite her handicapped legs, Nhu's determination to succeed makes everyone admire her. The golden girl of Vietnamese swimming not only brings home many high achievements but also surpasses her own limits every day. Remember on November 19, 2023, Bich Nhu participated in the Iron Man 70.3 Vietnam with 2 disabled athletes Huynh Huu Canh (running event) and Vo Huynh Anh Khoa (cycling event) taking place in Phu Quoc (Kien Giang). All 3 people set a record for the first team of disabled athletes to participate and complete the challenge of 3 combined events: swimming 1.9 km, cycling 90 km, running 21.1 km.

Ms. Do Thi Tau, Nhu's mother, shared: "When we heard the news that our daughter won the first ASEAN Para Games gold medal, the whole family was very happy because our daughter brought glory to the country. Although born with disadvantages, Nhu has strived to rise up, the family is very proud of Nhu."

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Bich Nhu received a certificate confirming her record for participating in the Iron Man 70.3 Vietnam - PHOTO: NVCC

Steadfast determination on disabled legs

Seeing Nhu on television and often on stage receiving medals with a happy smile, many people are very happy; but hidden behind that glorious smile, few people know that Nhu had a difficult and disadvantaged childhood. When she was born, Nhu was still a normal, innocent and intelligent child. The incident happened at the age of 3 after a fall and that evening Nhu had a polio attack and her legs were paralyzed.

"There was a time when I couldn't even sit, my mother had to put pillows around me to sit firmly. I was only able to go to school when I was 13 years old due to poor health and family difficulties. My father told me to learn to swim if I could, because the boat had a hole in it, I was afraid of falling into the water, I had to learn to swim to save myself. So I went down to the pond, grabbed onto some trees, and jumped back and forth until I learned to swim," Nhu recalled.

Nhu tried to finish 5th grade but had to drop out because the school was too far from home. The days of being alone at home made Nhu sad and feel guilty. "I used to think that if I died and donated my body to medicine, I would have done something meaningful for life. Sitting around doing nothing would be very sad. Not only would I not be able to do anything, but I would also be a burden to my family," Nhu said with tears in her eyes.

Nhu tried many jobs such as weaving water hyacinth, nail art, and sewing, but all of them felt unsuitable and the salary was too low. Then the opportunity with swimming came, helping Nhu assert herself on the green racetrack.

"In 2006, I asked my parents to go to Ho Chi Minh City to learn tailoring. A guy who went with me was a swimmer and he took me there to show me the ropes. Here I met Mr. Dong Quoc Cuong, then Mr. Pham Dinh Minh and started my swimming career. Within 2 months of training, I was able to compete. The first tournament I participated in was the National Sports Tournament for the Disabled in Da Nang in 2010 and won 2 gold medals and 1 silver medal. After receiving the medal, I was so emotional that I went into the bathroom to cry and then called my dad and my teacher to tell them the news," Nhu recalled.

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Bich Nhu radiant under the green racetrack - PHOTO: NVCC

Nhu came to swimming both as a passion and to make a living. The bonus from the medal helped Nhu cover her life full of difficulties and deprivation. During her training time, Nhu also rented a room near the swimming pool, spending all her savings to practice day and night with the hope that swimming would help her escape poverty. "Winning the Para Games gold medal, I received a bonus of 25 million VND, a huge amount of money for my life at any time," Nhu confided.

Coach Pham Dinh Minh shared: "In 2011, Nhu competed in her first international competition in Indonesia and won a gold medal. I was very happy, but Nhu cried. On the green track, Nhu was very brave and strong, but when on land, she often cried and was very weak."

Returning to normal life, Nhu sells goods online to make a living. Nhu does not know what the future holds because she does not have a stable job. Currently, Mr. Thach teaches swimming to local children, but the work is not steady, so the couple's life is still difficult.

Despite the difficulties, Bich Nhu is still actively participating in community sports competitions such as Run for "Em" season 1 - running for children in the highlands, Pink Hat 2024 - for cancer patients...

Trinh Thi Bich Nhu is also the only female athlete of Vietnamese para-swimming to be awarded a ticket to the 2024 Paralympics in Paris. This is the 4th consecutive time Bich Nhu has had this honor after London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

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