The Vietnamese team went home empty-handed at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
On September 8th, the final day of competition at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, England, both Vietnamese athletes – Vo Thanh Tung in the men's 100m freestyle and Cao Ngoc Hung in the javelin throw – performed well and both qualified for the finals.
Tung also achieved a record-breaking feat at the Asian level, but he was unable to make the dream of the Vietnamese Paralympic team winning a gold medal a reality.
In the men's 100m freestyle final, Thanh Tung achieved a time of 1 minute 19 seconds 83, breaking the previous Asian record of 1 minute 22 seconds 40. However, with this result, Tung still only ranked 6th out of 8 athletes. Brazilian swimmer Dias Daniel finished first with a time of 1 minute 9 seconds 35. The silver medal went to American swimmer Perkins Roy with a time of 1 minute 14 seconds 78. Spanish swimmer Rodriguer Sebastian won the bronze medal with 1 minute 15 seconds 70.
Vo Thanh Tung was unable to bring home a medal for the Vietnamese sports delegation.
(Photo: Ngoc Truong/VNA)
In the men's javelin throw final (F57/58 disability category), athlete Cao Ngoc Hung scored 964 points and threw 46.51 meters, ranking fourth out of 18 athletes. With this achievement, Hung was recognized as having the best individual performance on the results announcement system.
Evaluating the performance of the Vietnamese Paralympic team at the 2012 Paralympic Games, Mr. Vu The Phiệt, Deputy Head of the delegation, said that although the team did not bring home any medals, overall, the 11 athletes performed well in the three events: swimming, athletics, and weightlifting. In weightlifting, out of the four participating athletes, two finished fourth. Unfortunately, weightlifter Nguyen Thi Hong missed out on a bronze medal simply because she was 300g heavier than the home team's athlete, even though both lifted 88kg.
Among the four swimmers, Vo Thanh Tung, the team's hope, did not win a medal, even in his strongest event, the 50m butterfly, but was recognized for setting a new Asian record in the men's 100m freestyle. Two of the three athletes participating in athletics also performed excellently. Cao Ngoc Hung finished fourth in the men's javelin throw. Nguyen Thi Hai finished fourth in the women's javelin throw and was recognized for achieving the highest individual result.
Mr. Phiệt assessed that Vietnamese athletes had made great efforts, but lacked the strength to compete for medals at a major competition like the Paralympic Games.
The closing ceremony of the 2012 Paralympic Games will take place at the Olympic Stadium in East London on the morning of September 10th, Vietnam time.
According to (VNA) - DT
