Why be so harsh on My Tien?

In front of thousands of sports fans and media at the SEA Games 33, swimmer Vo Thi My Tien burst into tears after receiving public reprimands from a leader of the Aquatic Sports Association.

Athlete My Tien burst into tears after listening to Mr. Dinh Viet Hung's feedback - Photo: NGUYEN KHOI

The above story took place after swimmer Vo Thi My Tien won the silver medal in the women's 400m individual medley, and the gold medal was won by athlete Kamonchanok Kwanmuang (Thailand) on the evening of December 13th.

According to revelations from the Vietnamese swimming team's coaching staff, Mr. Dinh Viet Hung (Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Aquatic Sports Association) had a professional discussion with My Tien.

Specifically, Mr. Hung stated that, from a professional standpoint, My Tien's swimming technique was not up to standard. After a while of talking, My Tien burst into tears and went into the changing room.

The story above inevitably reminds us of Nguyen Thi Anh Vien, or Nguyen Kieu Oanh - swimmers of the previous generation before My Tien.

Both former athletes, who were once known as the "queens of swimming" (in their generation) of Vietnam, retired from the national team at the young age of 25.

Please don't say that - because the career lifespan of a swimmer is short. On the world stage, many stars reach the peak of their careers when they reach the age of 30. And to give an example, the famous swimmer Quah Ting Wen (Singapore) still won numerous SEA Games gold medals even after turning 31.

In a conversation, Ms. Kieu Oanh - now the Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Aquatic Sports Center - shared: "At that time, I felt so tired and fed up that I didn't even want to see or talk to the coach anymore, so I decided to quit, regardless of anyone's advice." That was in 1995.

Who was the head coach? It was Mr. Do Trong Thinh, who not long after became... her husband.

Throughout Kieu Oanh's career, Mr. Thinh has always been by her side, serving as her mentor, life partner, source of comfort, and even financial support for the career of this once-famous female swimmer.

During the years when Vietnamese sports lacked milk for athletes, Mr. Thinh generously spent his own money to send his student to train in Russia.

This illustrates that, even with such a close friend by her side, Vietnam's first swimming queen still felt tired and mentally exhausted after more than 10 years of dedicated service to Vietnamese sports.

How could you not be tired when you have to immerse yourself in the pool for 5-6 hours, sometimes even 9-10 hours a day, just to repeat the same task: swimming, swimming, and swimming?

Surrounding each swimmer is the water, the four sides of the pool, a few teammates in similar circumstances, and some coaches.

There are coaches who are very understanding and empathetic, but there are also coaches who pursue a rigid and harsh coaching style...

And for the girls, they often face a difficult issue to talk about – the gender difference between coach and student, leading to a lack of understanding and empathy for the specific physiological issues of women.

Ms. Kieu Oanh got married to Coach Trong Thinh not long after leaving the national team - Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

I've explained all this to help understand Kieu Oanh and Anh Vien's decision to retire from competitive swimming at a time when they were still in good form and could have competed at the highest level for a few more years.

Sports, of course, require rigorous training, constant confrontation, and overcoming difficulties. But in many different circumstances, athletes need to be understood and treated with sensitivity.

For this reason, major sporting nations are constantly developing and applying psychological science to sports to improve the mental health of athletes, especially female athletes.

At the Tokyo Olympics, American gymnastics star Simone Biles unexpectedly withdrew before the finals of several events, citing "mental health issues."

Who could criticize Biles? Who could mock American sports? Most fans and athletes alike share her sentiments and support her.

My Tien's tears after hearing feedback, despite her exhausting efforts to win the silver medal at the 33rd SEA Games - Photo: NK

Strictness fosters resilience, but it must also have limits and a certain degree of subtlety. And ideally, don't be harsh on female athletes, who have already suffered many disadvantages compared to the standards of a woman in the modern era.

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/sao-lai-ha-khac-voi-my-tien-20251214112730038.htm