The man who unlocked the 'gold mine' for Vietnamese sports at the 33rd SEA Games.

(PLVN) - During the SEA Games, Vietnamese athletes continuously won valuable gold medals. The pioneer in this "treasure hunt" was Vietnamese female canoeing athlete Nguyen Thi Huong. With a time of 2 minutes 6 seconds 487, Nguyen Thi Huong and her teammate brought home a precious gold medal in the women's double sculls C-2500m event.

Nguyen Thi Huong is an experienced athlete who has competed in the SEA Games. With 8 SEA Games gold medals won in just two editions, Nguyen Thi Huong is currently the most outstanding female rower that the Vietnamese rowing team possesses.

Nguyen Thi Huong (born in 2001) initially played stick pushing and won a gold medal at the age of 14 in her home province. Then Huong tried her hand at women's freestyle wrestling. After three years of arduous training, the women's wrestling team disbanded. She felt her athletic path had "run out." It was at that moment that she began to explore a new sport – canoeing. Starting from scratch, not knowing how to swim, not knowing how to hold a paddle, and facing a height disadvantage… Nguyen Thi Huong had to train twice or three times as hard as others, persistently dedicating an extra 1-2 hours each day to individual training, repeating techniques dozens of times, unafraid of falling into the lake or straining her back rowing in all weather conditions.

In her first year on the national team (2019), Huong won a gold medal at the Southeast Asian Youth Championships. At the 31st SEA Games (2022), in her first participation, Huong impressed the entire region by winning all 5 gold medals in 5 events, including 3 individual gold medals. Although Canoeing was not included in the SEA Games 32 program, Huong continued to contribute 3 gold medals in the traditional boat team.

In 2024, Huong continued to make history by securing the first official ticket for Vietnamese canoeing to participate in the Paris Summer Olympic Games. In 2025, Huong maintained her consistent performance, winning a silver medal at the Asian Championships and a gold medal at the Southeast Asian Championships (in the double sculls event with Diep Thi Huong).

Immediately after the victory in Thailand, the Head of the Vietnamese Sports Delegation, Nguyen Hong Minh, awarded a bonus of 10 million VND to promptly encourage Huong and her teammates.

In the joy of victory, Nguyen Thi Huong said: “I am extremely proud to have brought home the first gold medal for the Vietnamese delegation with my teammates. The moment of stepping onto the podium to receive the medal and singing the national anthem is a special moment in my life as an athlete.”

Returning to the SEA Games 33 arena, the female athlete from Vinh Phuc continues to be a gold medal hope for Vietnamese sports. Besides the doubles event where she won a gold medal, Huong also participated in many singles events and is expected to become one of the most outstanding athletes of the delegation at SEA Games 33.

With those outstanding achievements, Nguyen Thi Huong has consecutively received the Second and Third Class Labor Orders from the President of Vietnam and many other prestigious awards.

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/nguoi-mo-kho-vang-cho-the-thao-viet-nam-tai-sea-games-33.html