Athletics: A gold medal after battling a devastating case of glomerulonephritis.

Even without the two gold medals she just won in the women's 1,500m (August 24th) and 5,000m (August 25th) athletics events at the 2017 SEA Games, the mere presence of 22-year-old Nguyen Thi Oanh at the 2017 SEA Games is already a miracle.

Athlete Nguyen Thi Oanh helps her teammate Pham Thi Hue at the finish line of the women's 5,000m race. Photo: Nguyen Khanh

Coach Tran Van Sy, Oanh's close mentor in the national team for many years, emotionally shared these thoughts with us as his student prepared to step onto the podium to receive her medal in the women's 1,500m race on the afternoon of August 24th.

In the scorching afternoon sun of Bukit Jalil, very few reporters and fans were present at the athletics stadium. Besides the scheduling conflict with the football match, the name Nguyen Thi Oanh in the 1,500m event was largely unknown to most. After winning the silver medal in the 3,000m steeplechase in Myanmar four years ago, Oanh had "disappeared" from the athletics scene for quite some time. The reason was her debilitating glomerulonephritis.

“It was around December 2014. After a competition, I noticed my face suddenly had many swollen areas. Many people said it was just an allergy, but I felt uneasy. I knew my body well, so I went to see a doctor and found out I had glomerulonephritis,” Oanh said, still unable to hide her shudder as she recalled the terrifying experience.

Heart and kidney diseases are always a nightmare for athletes, especially those in strenuous sports that demand a lot of physical strength and endurance, such as track and field. Nguyen Thi Oanh was no exception. “I was shocked when the doctor told me I had kidney disease. My first thought was to retire. It was hard to accept. But gradually, after a period of examination and monitoring, I learned that my disease was only in its early stages and there was still a chance of treatment,” Oanh recounted.

But life isn't always that easy. Oanh had to stop training and competing from the beginning of 2015, and also missed the 2015 SEA Games. But then, her willpower and passion helped the girl from Bac Giang overcome everything. By the end of 2015, Oanh had completely cured her kidney disease and returned to the track.

Of course, the difficulties were now multiplied. Coach Tran Van Sy confided that he and his student Oanh had faced doubts about their determination to return to the track. The exclusion of Oanh's specialty event, the 3,000m steeplechase, from the 2017 SEA Games made her dream of a gold medal even more precarious. Coach Sy shifted Oanh's focus to the 1,500m and 5,000m events, and she went on to win both.

“I truly admire my student's perseverance. What's most commendable about Oanh is her excellent knowledge of physiology; she understands her own body very well, allowing her to coordinate effectively with the coaching staff. When Oanh had just recovered from her illness, I was very hesitant in choosing a training plan for her. Both of us had to painstakingly experiment and train together, fearing the symptoms of post-illness complications,” Coach Sy recounted.

Having overcome countless difficulties to reach glory, Oanh understands better than anyone the value of the helping hands around her. Perhaps that's why such a touching scene unfolded on the 5,000m race track on the afternoon of August 25th.

Pham Thi Hue, another Vietnamese athlete competing in the same event, collapsed on the field from exhaustion after crossing the finish line. Oanh rushed to her side to help her teammate stand up. It was truly an inspiring image for everyone present at Bukit Jalil Stadium, especially after hearing the full story behind Nguyen Thi Oanh's victory!

According to TTO