"Superwoman" Nguyen Thi Oanh causes a stir on the SEA Games track

Having anticipated the possibility of facing an unfavorable schedule due to registering to compete in 4 events (the most out of the total 47 events of the entire Vietnamese athletics team), both Oanh and the coaching staff could not imagine that the Organizing Committee would arrange for her to compete in 3 events within 24 hours.

Run 1,500m in over 4 minutes

Not only that, two of these three races took place just 20 minutes apart, including the 1,500m race and the preparation for the 3,000m steeplechase!

If Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc winning a gold medal in the women's 20km walk under the headlights of a truck is a rare event, then Nguyen Thi Oanh having to compete in two events in less than half an hour is truly unprecedented.

Athletics organizers have constantly changed the competition schedule, making both athletes and spectators feel "dizzy" and the media constantly "offside".

Oanh then went out to run 3,000m over obstacles.

Nguyen Thi Oanh had to run more than 3 laps of the field (1,500m) in under 4 minutes, then quickly change clothes, put on her bib number and go to the waiting room to compete in the 3,000m obstacle course within 20 minutes between the two events. This was truly a huge challenge for Nguyen Thi Oanh, the reigning SEA Games champion in both of the above distances.

Nguyen Thi Oanh becomes a symbol of Southeast Asian athletics

Many prestigious experts have suggested that the coaching board as well as Nguyen Thi Oanh should skip one event to ensure both her performance and health. However, nothing can shake Nguyen Thi Oanh's determination as she has prepared the best for this 32nd SEA Games journey.

Oanh and Bui Thi Ngan won first and second place in the 1,500m race.

Nguyen Thi Oanh entered the field with vigor and ran the 1,500m in just 4 minutes and 16 seconds. Preparing for the 3,000m obstacle course, Oanh could not even breathe and had to postpone the doping test to be on time for the race.

"Human determination can overcome nature", Oanh continued to win in this specialty to add to her collection of achievements the 11th SEA Games gold medal. Of which, the 3 latest championships were won within just 24 hours and two gold medals were won in less than 40 minutes.

Oanh finished first and Nguyen Thi Huong finished third in the 3,000m obstacle course.

The challenge seemed to be beyond human ability and the little girl who once suffered from glomerulonephritis has become the "superwoman", or "steel rose" of Vietnamese athletics.

Nguyen Thi Huyen could not defend her gold medal in the women's 400m event because she was placed on the wrong track. Normally, lanes 3, 4, and 5 are reserved for athletes with good results in the upcoming event. However, despite being the champion, Huyen was placed on lane 7, a position that is usually reserved for athletes with low qualifying results or who did not register their results.

Champion Nguyen Thi Huyen was placed in lane 7 at a very disadvantage.

Unable to change the unfavorable situation, Huyen was forced to compete and only finished in second place with a time of 53.27 seconds. The gold medal went to Malaysian athlete Shereen Samson with a time of 52.53 seconds. Nguyen Thi Huyen's defeat was surprising because the 400m was an event she had dominated in many previous regional competitions.

Nguyen Thi Huyen lost the chance to defend her 400m gold medal.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/the-thao/sieu-nhan-nguyen-thi-oanh-gay-chan-dong-duong-chay-sea-games-20230509212424068.htm