The motivation to break the SEA Games record of Nghe An weightlifter

The story of the unlucky sister

PeriodSEA Games 31was a very successful congress for the Vietnamese Sports Delegation, when they won 205 Gold Medals and led the medal tally. In particular, Weightlifting also won 3 Gold Medals. It is worth mentioning that in the Gold Medal of Weightlifting, in the 64 kg weight class, Pham Thi Hong Thanh had an excellent performance, when she broke the record 3 times in this weight class to successfully defend the Gold Medal she won at the 30th SEA Games. Hong Thanh is a weightlifter who grew up from the high-performance sports training center of Nghe An.

Pham Thi Hong Thanh broke the SEA Games record three times. Photo: NVCC

In preparation for the 31st Southeast Asian Games, the athlete born in 1999 had days of extremely rigorous training and unfortunately suffered a back injury. Nearly a week before the competition, Thanh had to seek medical care and could not go to the gym.

“I was very worried. Before the tournament, I was determined to win the Gold Medal because this was a SEA Games held at home, with a large audience. Therefore, when I was injured, I was under a lot of psychological pressure. I could say that my state at that time was like being stressed and before the competition day, I lost nearly 2kg. But fortunately, the injury had recovered about 70% and I was able to get on the floor,” Thanh recounted.

Before the match, in addition to the large number of spectators who came to cheer, Pham Thi Hong Thanh also received encouragement from teachers and relatives. Especially, Thanh's grandmother and younger sister were also present in the stands. These are people who have great significance in Thanh's life.

Thanh shared: “My grandmother and sister are my great source of motivation. Whenever I have difficulties, I always think of them. That is the motivation that helps me become stronger to overcome all obstacles.”

Entering the snatch competition, Thanh faced fierce competition from the Filipino athlete. The challenge for Hong Thanh was in his third snatch competition, when the Filipino athlete successfully lifted 103 kg (breaking the record that Hong Thanh had just set).

“At that time, my old back injury started to recur, causing me quite a bit of pain. But I told myself to be more determined and not to give up. There were many eyes waiting behind me. In my mind at that time, only two words appeared: determination and determination,” Thanh recalled.

And in a brilliant day of competition, Vietnam's weightlifter successfully lifted 104 kg in her final attempt, becoming the athlete with the best result in the women's 64 kg snatch - setting a new SEA Games record (6 kg higher than the old record).

Moving on to the clean and jerk event, Thanh's forte, the weightlifter easily overcame her opponents. She easily lifted 126 kg in her second attempt - setting a new SEA Games record in the women's 64 kg category (2 kg higher than the old record).

With a total lift of 230 kg, Pham Thi Hong Thanh also surpassed the old SEA Games record for total lift by 16 kg (the old record was 214 kg).

With an excellent performance, weightlifter Pham Thi Hong Thanh set 3 SEA Games records, winning the Gold Medal in weightlifting in the 64kg category for the Vietnamese Sports Delegation.

Pham Thi Hong Thanh won the Gold Medal in weightlifting in the 64kg category at the 31st SEA Games. Photo: NVCC

Pham Thi Hong Thanh shared: “That was a moment of bursting happiness, I had won the Gold Medal at the 30th SEA Games, but when I defended this medal on home soil, with the cheers of the home crowd, it was a very different feeling. Especially my sister came to cheer for me. She probably didn’t understand what was happening, but her shy eyes evoked happiness when she saw me happy. That moment was so meaningful and it will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

“The viral fever from birth has made my sister not develop as well as other children. She is 18 years old this year, but all her activities require the help of her grandmother. Every time I think of my sister, I feel like I am given more will and determination to overcome all difficulties. I will train and compete well and will be a solid support for my sister in the future” - the SEA Games Golden Girl confided with teary eyes.

Self-conscious when wearing a skirt

Athlete born in 1999 - Pham Thi Hong Thanh came to weightlifting by chance. After finishing 8th grade, the girl born in Hai Duong went to Vinh city to learn swimming. When coming to Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center, one time in the water, coach Vu Duc Hoang of the Center was surprised to see Thanh's appearance. "I was surprised that a girl who had never played sports had very well-developed muscles. At that time, I affirmed that she was born to play weightlifting" - coach Vu Duc Hoang said.

Thanh was quickly selected by the Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center. In the early days of training, the girl born in 1999 thought about giving up because weightlifting requires a lot of energy and must maintain regular training otherwise she will not be able to improve her performance.

After nearly a year of training, Thanh has begun to reap the rewards. The girl from Hai Duong won the Gold Medal at the first national youth tournament in 2014. The achievements have further motivated Thanh to stick with this sport and become more and more passionate.

However, when she reached adolescence, Thanh's body became large and bulky, unlike the slim girls of the same age.

Thanh recalls: “At that time, I saw girls wearing pretty, slim dresses, I also liked it, also tried to wear them but with my body, it was not suitable. I was very self-conscious, at times I no longer wanted to pursue this subject, just wanted to be like normal girls, to wear dresses to go out, to birthday parties. However, at that time, teacher Vu Duc Hoang confided, encouraged, analyzed for me about beauty, about life ideals. That helped me have more mature thoughts about my goals in life.”

Pham Thi Hong Thanh with a pretty face, full of femininity in real life. Photo: NVCC

During her time competing in domestic tournaments, Pham Thi Hong Thanh has always been a "gold mine" of Nghe An sports. Now, Thanh is continuing to strive for future goals, especially the 2022 Asian Games scheduled to be held next year. With a strong desire and determination to never rest on her laurels, Thanh promises to conquer even greater heights in the future.