Malaysian newspaper praises 'fastest woman in Southeast Asia' Tu Chinh

In the article below from The Star, Le Tu Chinh emerged as the locomotive that brought home 3 gold medals for Vietnamese athletics at the 2017 SEA Games.

Sprinter Le Tu Chinh is a brand new addition to the poster for the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur.

The first time she participated in the tournament, the impression she left was not only on her beautiful face. Tu Chinh was really fast, and her achievement of winning three gold medals put her among the stars of the Vietnamese athletics team and this year's SEA Games.

Tu Chinh won three gold medals in her first SEA Games appearance. Photo: Lam Thoa.

Vietnam emerged as the new dominant force in athletics in the region after winning 17 gold medals in the 45-medal field.

Vietnam's shower of 17 gold, 9 silver and 5 bronze medals finally ended Thailand's dominance that had lasted for the last 15 Games.

Thailand's athletics ranked second this year, winning 9 gold, 12 silver and 11 bronze, followed by Malaysia with 8 gold, 8 silver and 9 bronze. The Philippines, the next host of the SEA Games, won 5 gold, 3 silver and 9 bronze.

This is also the first time Vietnam has dominated athletics since the first SEA Games was held in 1959.

And Tu Chinh is the pioneer of the revolution of Vietnamese athletics.

Tu Chinh is one of Vietnam's most outstanding athletes at this year's SEA Games. Photo: Duc Dong.

She emerged as the new speed queen of Southeast Asia when she completed a double victory in the 100m with a time of 11.56 seconds and the 200m after 23.32 seconds.

She then helped the 4x100m relay team, along with Nguyen Thi Oanh, Quach Thi Lan and Tran Thi Yen Hoa, set a new record at the SEA Games when they reached the finish line in 43.88 seconds, surpassing the old record of 44.00 seconds set by Thailand in Myanmar in 2013.

And Tu Chinh was walking on clouds after her memorable performance. She said: "I'm on cloud nine. This is my first SEA Games. I never thought I could win three gold medals and break the 4x100m record.

It was great to contribute three gold medals to the country. I am also happy that we became the overall champions of athletics for the first time. Our athletics federation had a target of 12 gold medals at this SEA Games and we exceeded that target by winning five more gold medals."

Tu Chinh said she will shift her focus to next year's ASIAD in Jakarta, which will take place from August 18 to September 2. "I am now the fastest woman in Southeast Asia, so I will train harder to compete at the ASIAD," she said.

According to VNE