The incredible endurance of gymnastics 'hot boy' Dinh Phuong Thanh

Competing in two gymnastics qualifying events, Dinh Phuong Thanh was completely exhausted. He must have had immense motivation to overcome it.

Dinh Phuong Thanh continues to compete at the SEA Games - Photo: TTO

At the age of 30, Dinh Phuong Thanh is participating in his 6th SEA Games.

10 years of perseverance

At the 33rd SEA Games, Dinh Phuong Thanh was the oldest member of the Vietnamese men's gymnastics team. In fact, in previous editions, he had always been the "elder brother." But each time, he was accompanied by his close friend and equally talented teammate, Le Thanh Tung.

"After making vows of eternal love, Tùng abandoned me this year," Phương Thành jokingly shared after competing in two individual event qualifying rounds at the SEA Games 33 on December 10th.

Dinh Phuong Thanh rose to prominence at the 2014 Asian Games (South Korea), where he won a bronze medal in the parallel bars event at the age of 19.

At the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore, he and Thanh Tung helped the men's gymnastics team dominate, winning 6 out of a total of 8 gold medals.

Having participated in five consecutive SEA Games (2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023), the duo Thanh and Tung have consistently been pillars of the national team, bringing home numerous glories. Not stopping there, they also secured a spot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021), an honor few athletes achieve.

But life always takes many turns. The 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia in 2023 marked the last time the duo Thanh and Tung competed together. Not long before that tournament, Phuong Thanh had just gotten married. A few months later, he received the joyful news of the birth of his first son.

The duo Phuong Thanh and Thanh Tung have been together through many SEA Games, Asian Games, and even the Olympics - Photo: TTO

Therefore, the handsome athlete decided not to participate in the 19th Asian Games held in China. So, Le Thanh Tung went alone with his younger teammates, all born after 2000. Later that year, Tung also decided to leave the national team to move to Ho Chi Minh City to begin his coaching career.

It seemed like that would also be the farewell to the national team for the two "hot boys" of gymnastics. But then, at this SEA Games 33, Dinh Phuong Thanh made a comeback despite a long period of infrequent participation in international competitions.

After ten years of perseverance, he stands before the opportunity to win more glory in the regional arena.

Efforts for the family

Actually, Phuong Thanh hasn't considered leaving the national team or retiring completely. But at 30, he's starting to think more far ahead.

"I don't know yet. We'll see how things go next year before we decide. For now, we'll just focus on competing in the SEA Games," Thành shared.

Signs of age are beginning to show in this seasoned athlete. This year, he was assigned to compete in his two strongest events: the horizontal bar and parallel bars. On the morning of December 10th, in the qualifying round, he had to compete in both events consecutively within just a few minutes.

After finishing the competition, Thanh was breathless, as if he had just run a marathon. Gymnastics is a sport that requires flexibility to perform extremely difficult movements. And to do that, it demands a lot of physical strength.

After finishing two exams in a row, Thanh jokingly told his younger colleagues like Xuan Thien and Khanh Phong: "I'm getting old, I needed oxygen right after finishing the exams."

Besides physical fitness, injuries are also a reason for his hesitation. The stories of Thanh and Tung having to receive painkiller injections to compete have been widely reported in the press.

But he still has a great motivation to strive, and that is his family. He honestly shared: "During the 2023 Asian Games, my child had just been born. At that time, I had the responsibility of a father, to help my family take care of him."

Then, as my child grew a little older, I had to focus on training. I spent all day in Nho Son (National Sports Training Center). I missed my child so much, but I couldn't do otherwise. All my efforts and hard work were for my family. Luckily, my wife and child live nearby, so I can go home to visit on weekends. My mother-in-law also provided a lot of support, which helped a lot. My wife, child, and family are the motivation for me to continue competing like this."

This might be the last SEA Games for the "hot boy" gymnast Dinh Phuong Thanh. But whatever the result of Thanh's final competition this afternoon, December 12th, fans will forever remember him – the talented, handsome, and incredibly humble athlete of Vietnamese gymnastics.

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DUC KHUE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/su-ben-bi-dang-kinh-ngac-cua-hot-boy-the-duc-dung-cu-dinh-phuong-thanh-20251211111837035.htm