Nguyen Thi Oanh (number 624) with her fast footsteps.

Full of courage and aspirations

Born in 1995 in My Ha commune (Lang Giang district), Oanh got acquainted with the running track when she was a child and soon proved her talent at the traditional running competition of Bac Giang Newspaper. However, after the National Sport Games in 2014, Oanh was diagnosed with glomerulitis so she had to halt all of her practice and competition.

With her strong willpower and encouragement from her relatives and teammates, Oanh overcame difficulties to maintain her bond with the running track. She has even made an impressive comeback since late 2015. Before winning the two gold medals at SEA Games 29, Oanh has consecutively triumphed at major competitions such as the national athletics championships, International Hanoi Open and International Ho Chi Minh City Open.

Tears of happiness

Nguyen Thi Oanh is radiant with two gold medals at SEA Games 29.

In the 5,000m race, in most of her running time, Oanh silently kept close to her rivals in top 3, aiming to maintain her stamina. Only when almost reaching the finish line, Oanh sped up with her long and fast footsteps then finished in the shortest time among all. 

For the first time, an athlete of Bac Giang has won two gold medals at a SEA Games, especially in athletics, a fundamental sport of the Olympics. The achievement is a motivation for other high-performance sport teams of the province to strive for the upcoming national sport tournament in 2018 Nguyen Trong Bac, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

At the age of 18, Nguyen Thi Oanh had the honour to compete at SEA Games 27 and earned one silver medal in the women’s 3,000m hurdle. Four years later, at SEA Games 29, her dream and aspiration came true with two gold medals in the women’s 1,500m and 5,000m events. 

Earlier, being in the best of her condition, when competing in the women’s 1,500m race, Oanh took the lead since the beginning and maintained the distance with her rivals until she reached the finish line. 

Dao Xuan Hung, a trainer in charge of the athletics division of the provincial Sport Training and Competition Centre said: “In both events at SEA Games 29, Oanh skilfully applied planned tactics which were fundamental factors of her breakthrough results at this year’s regional sport event”.

From Malaysia, Oanh said that though she seemed to be strong on the running track, she burst into tears when she was in her teammates’ embrace after winning the gold medals. Filled with happiness, Nguyen Van Chuyen, Oanh’s father, said: “Throughout SEA Games 29 I mostly sit next to the television to watch my daughter’s journey. I am really delighted and proud that she has become a SEA Games champion this year”.

Quoc Truong