Gold medal for brave girls

The harshness of the weather

Marathon (42.195 km) and walking (20 km) always challenge the limits of athletes because of the exhausting nature of the long-distance race. But only when being present at the ancient temple of Angkor Wat yesterday could one clearly feel the harsh conditions of the race held in Siem Reap (Cambodia). According to the original plan, the marathon course was designed to surround Angkor Wat. However, due to an unrepaired bridge, at the last minute the organizers were forced to adjust it to a straight course of more than 10 km, with a total of 4 laps. But the biggest challenge for all athletes was the sweltering heat in Siem Reap, in theory only 33 degrees Celsius outside but in reality the temperature felt to be around 40 degrees Celsius. Even though the organizers opened the race at 6 am for men and 6:10 am for women, it did not help much because from dawn the heat had enveloped everything.

Tấm HCV cho những cô gái quả cảm - Ảnh 1. — The 3 golden girls of Vietnamese karate (from left to right): Luu Thi Thu Uyen, Nguyen Thi Phuong, Nguyen Ngoc Tram

Nguyen Thi Ninh fainted at the finish line.

Also because of the harsh weather, the marathon competition on the morning of May 6, for the first time in the 32nd SEA Games, witnessed 2 athletes fainting, athlete Nguyen Thi Ninh (Vietnam) and female athlete Odekta Elvina Naibaho (Indonesia) in a fierce race with Le Thi Tuyet (silver medal). Odekta Elvina Naibaho had just crossed the finish line when she collapsed on the spot and was taken by ambulance to the hospital for emergency treatment. As for Nguyen Thi Ninh, thanks to the timely intervention of the doctor and the athletics team's coaching staff, after about 2-3 minutes she regained consciousness and was able to walk again with the help of someone. That was a great effort of will from the girl from Bac Giang , in her first time participating in the SEA Games after just over 2 years of practicing running.

Due to the hot weather and hot road surface, there were cases where athletes took off their shoes and ran barefoot. A female Cambodian volunteer who was standing suddenly passed out and had to be given oxygen and an IV, then taken to the hospital by ambulance because she could not stand the intense heat at the competition venue.

Thanh Phuc's achievements

The hot weather witnessed the superiority of Indonesian athletes when they won the absolute first place in the 3 events of men's marathon, women's marathon and men's 20 km walk. The intention of this opponent to win all 4 gold medals was stopped by the excellent performance of "veteran" Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc. The 33-year-old girl was closely pursued by Indonesian female athlete Violine Intan Puspita and was warned by the referee twice (receiving the third warning will result in a 2-minute suspension).

But with his extensive experience, Thanh Phuc completed the competition perfectly, bringing home the first gold medal for Vietnamese athletics at the 32nd SEA Games with a time of 1 hour 55 minutes 02 seconds. Thanh Phuc said that the 5th gold medal in 6 SEA Games was also the most difficult gold medal: "Knowing that it was "difficult for others, difficult for us", but for the first time in my career I competed in really unpleasant weather conditions. Luckily, I have a lot of experience so I know how to distribute my strength evenly for the final stage. The results of Phuc and other athletes were very poor under these harsh weather conditions. But importantly, Phuc achieved the set goal of a gold medal for Vietnamese athletics".

Tấm HCV cho những cô gái quả cảm - Ảnh 2.

Brave female warriors

All the anticipation of the first gold medal for the Vietnamese sports delegation finally came. The karate girls in the women's team kata category, including Nguyen Ngoc Tram, Luu Thi Thu Uyen, and Nguyen Thi Phuong, overcame a lot of pressure to win. Female martial artist Nguyen Thi Phuong burst into tears right on the stage because she was overwhelmed with happiness. Just a few minutes before, Nguyen Thi Phuong herself could not overcome the Philippine athlete in the women's individual kata category and only won a silver medal. "This put a lot of pressure on me. However, because we were determined to win a gold medal, my teammates and I had to make every effort to immediately put aside all disappointment and put all our heart into the performance in the team category. The result was so sweet, this was also the first gold medal on the official competition day at the 32nd SEA Games for the Vietnamese sports delegation. I am really so happy," said Nguyen Thi Phuong.

Inspired by karate, vovinam athletes also overcame many difficulties to win the first gold medal at the 32nd SEA Games in the women's 55 kg combat event by athlete Le Thi Hien when defeating Lao athlete Panyasyli 7-0. Notably, Le Thi Hien entered the final match with a lot of pressure when Vietnamese vovinam had not won a gold medal yet, she also suffered a serious knee injury. The coach advised her to only use hand strikes and limit kicks. "I endured the pain to enter the competition. It was really difficult, but when it came to the final match, it was hard to give up (before that, Le Thi Hien beat Cambodian athlete Pech Chomno 9-1 in the semi-finals). I am really happy, above all, my sacrifices and overcoming difficulties have been rewarded".

Yesterday, the Vietnamese sports delegation won a total of 5 gold medals, 9 silver medals, and 10 bronze medals. The golden faces of Vietnamese sports include Le Hong Phuc, Pham Minh Duc, Giang Viet Anh (male karate team kata); Nguyen Ngoc Tram, Luu Thi Thu Uyen, Nguyen Thi Phuong (female karate team kata); Le Thi Hien (female 55 kg combat in vovinam); Tran Hung Nguyen (200 m mixed swimming); Nguyen Thanh Phuc (female track and field walking).

Source link