An interesting turning point for the young female weightlifter from Nghe An.

From a bright student excelling in Literature…

“Around April 2018, Mr. Hau, my physical education teacher, took the students to the Phu Dong Sports Festival at the district level. At that time, Mr. Hoang and Mr. Cuong came to recruit students. They saw a girl one year ahead of me who had the potential for weightlifting, so they wanted to recruit her. But Mr. Hau said, ‘There’s a girl at home with a physique even better than yours, but she’s not participating in the sports festival.’ The “girl” Mr. Hau was referring to was me.”

"Then, Coach Hoang and Coach Cuong came to my house, asked me to perform long jump and push-up tests, and expressed their desire to recruit me to Vinh," Nguyen Thi Quynh Mai recounted the circumstances of her selection to become a professional athlete.

The teacher Hậu that Quỳnh Mai is referring to here is Mr. Nguyễn Bá Hậu - a physical education teacher at Đồng Văn Secondary School (Tân Kỳ), while Mr. Hoàng and Mr. Cường are coaches Vũ Đức Hoàng and Phạm Ngọc Cường from the Nghệ An Sports Training and Competition Center. These are the people who discovered the talent of the female athlete born in 2005 in Đồng Văn commune (Tân Kỳ). However, at that time, the teachers didn't know that this 13-year-old girl wasn't particularly passionate about sports, was an excellent student for six consecutive years, and was very good at Literature, being a member of the school's Literature gifted student team.

The story of this girl from a remote village in Tan Ky district who excels in her studies likely stems from her family circumstances. Her parents divorced, and her mother works as a factory worker in a distant province, leaving Quynh Mai to live with her maternal grandparents from a young age. Sympathizing with her grandparents' difficult situation, Mai studied diligently and helped them with household chores. Her love of reading and her passion for literature, on the other hand, stem from the sensitive soul of a girl from an unfortunate family background.

Because he saw that his granddaughter was sensitive and weak, when Quynh Mai was in sixth grade, her maternal grandfather enrolled her in a martial arts class in the commune. That was the first sport that Quynh Mai practiced regularly, but only "twice a week for fun."

What's remarkable is that despite having a seemingly fragile spirit and a difficult family background, Quynh Mai has a contrasting physique: short, plump, and sturdy. It was this physical characteristic that caught the attention of coaches at the Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center, as being short is a significant advantage in weightlifting because the weight travels a shorter distance and is lighter.

Seeing their granddaughter pass the tests, Quỳnh Mai's maternal grandparents expressed their support for her becoming a professional athlete to become independent early. However, most of her teachers at Đồng Văn Secondary School disagreed, advising their student against pursuing a strenuous and uncertain career as an athlete. “They even said that if a girl lifts weights a lot, she'll become very muscular, making it difficult to find a husband later. But after much deliberation, I followed Mr. Hoàng and Mr. Cường to Vinh so my grandparents wouldn't have to worry about raising me and would suffer less. At that time, I had just finished my 7th grade year, also with excellent academic achievements,” Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh Mai shared.

Upon arriving in Vinh City to train and live at the Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center, like many other athletes, Quynh Mai faced difficulties as she hadn't yet adapted to her new life, including homesickness and unfamiliarity with the different training regime. However, thanks to the dedicated guidance of the coaches and the help of senior athletes, Quynh Mai gradually mastered techniques from basic to advanced levels, successfully completing her training sessions.

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“Before, I thought weightlifting was one of the easy sports, requiring only good physical fitness. But after starting to train, I realized it's very difficult. It's not just about being big and strong; you have to learn techniques that look simple but aren't easy to apply at all. Especially in the beginning, I was allergic to iron. Whenever I put a weight on my neck, I would get itchy rashes, especially with old, rusty ones. After enduring it for a while, I got used to it, and then the old weights were replaced, so I no longer had the allergy…”

Nguyen Thi Quynh Mai - Weightlifter from the Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center.

...to the talented young female weightlifter

In April 2019, Quynh Mai had her first opportunity to compete in the National Youth Weightlifting Championship held in Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province, where she won two Silver Medals. A year later, at the same competition held in Hanoi, the young athlete from Tan Ky won three Silver Medals.

With her natural talent and diligent training, Nguyen Thi Quynh Mai's performance in the 71kg weight category has steadily improved. In 2021, Nguyen Thi Quynh Mai won her first gold medal at the National Youth Weightlifting Championships held in Kien Giang province.

In 2022, Quynh Mai competed in a higher-level tournament, the National Youth Weightlifting Championship held in Bac Lieu province, and won 3 Silver medals. That same year, she also participated in the National Club Weightlifting Championship, winning 1 Silver and 1 Bronze medal.

From 2023 to the present, it has been a successful period for Quynh Mai, winning two gold medals in the snatch with a performance of 84kg and the total lift with a performance of 185kg, and a silver medal in the clean and jerk at the 2023 National Youth Weightlifting Championships held in Da Nang city.

At the 2024 National Youth Weightlifting Championships held in An Giang province from June 17-21, this female weightlifter won two gold medals: a snatch with 81kg and a total with 184kg, and a silver medal in the clean and jerk. These achievements led to Nguyen Thi Quynh Mai being called up to the national youth team to train in preparation for the 2024 World Youth Weightlifting Championships, which will take place in Spain in September.

Nguyen Thi Quynh Mai said that the "senior" she admires most is Pham Thi Hong Thanh - a female weightlifter who has won many high achievements both domestically and internationally. "Looking at her gives me more motivation to strive, to improve myself even more, and to achieve two goals this year: winning medals at the 2024 National Weightlifting Championships and the 2024 World Youth Weightlifting Championships," Quynh Mai confided.

Not only is she a talented weightlifter, but since moving to Vinh City and embarking on a professional sports career, Nguyen Thi Quynh Mai has also been a diligent and exemplary student at the Nghe An High School for Gifted Students in Physical Education and Sports. For many years, she served as class president and was described by her teachers and friends as a friendly and caring person who always looked after and helped those around her. Currently, she is a first-year student in the Physical Education department at the Bac Ninh University of Physical Education and Sports. It is believed that, despite the many challenges ahead, Quynh Mai will continue to persevere and strive for greater success in her sports career.