Labor Medal at the age of 20 of Nghe An diver

Motivation from the teacher

Nguyen Trong Dung was born in 2003, the eldest of two brothers in Hung Loi commune (Hung Nguyen). His father is a taxi driver and his mother is a catering worker. In 2015, at the age of 12, thanks to his good physique and agility, Nguyen Trong Dung was selected to join the Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center in swimming and diving.

“At that time, I was in 6th grade. During physical education class, the teacher asked, “Does anyone want to participate in the selection of swimmers?” So I volunteered to go to the selection with 11 other students in the class. When it came time to select, I was lucky to be selected because I had a better physique than my peers,” Nguyen Trong Dung recalled.

After nearly a year of practicing swimming, Nguyen Trong Dung was transferred to diving. “At first, I encountered many difficulties because diving requires a lot of physical strength because I had to carry a lot of equipment such as air tanks and fins. In addition, because I had to move my lower body a lot, parts such as the back, hips and thighs were always overloaded and painful. When I first started practicing, I had muscle and leg pain every day and after practice sessions I almost couldn't walk. But thanks to Mr. Ho Phi Luoc - Head of the Swimming and Diving Department of Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center, who persistently encouraged and corrected me in every detail of my technique, I gradually overcame the difficulties,” Nguyen Trong Dung shared.

Nguyen Trong Dung (left) and coach Ho Phi Luoc. Photo: NVCC

Nguyen Trong Dung also said that it was also Mr. Luoc who was with him throughout the training process, including the quarantine periods due to Covid-19 and domestic and international competitions. In particular, at the World Cup Diving Championship and the 9th National Sports Festival, the two teachers and students trained together for many days. Both teachers and students missed their families very much but always encouraged each other to try to bring glory to the Fatherland as well as the province.

The 32nd SEA Games was the first tournament where Coach Luoc could not be by my side during the training and competition. Therefore, at first, I found the exercises from the team coaches quite new to me, so I had to adapt slowly and could not get used to them right away. However, Coach Luoc called me every day to encourage me and help me try harder to complete the exercises.

Diver Nguyen Trong Dung

Miracles

After achieving impressive achievements in youth tournaments such as the National Club Swimming and Diving Championship (2017, 2028), the National Youth Swimming and Diving Championship (2019), from 2020 to present, Nguyen Trong Dung has competed in the National Age Group Swimming and Diving Championship - the highest level domestic playground for swimmers and divers, in which Nguyen Trong Dung won Gold Medals.

Nguyen Trong Dung (middle) won the individual gold medal at the 2022 Diving World Cup. Photo: NVCC

More specifically, from September 2022 to present, Nguyen Trong Dung has achieved feats at three important tournaments: the 2022 World Cup Diving Championship, the 9th National Sports Congress in 2022 and the 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games).

First of all, at the Diving World Cup held in September 2022 in Thailand, Nguyen Trong Dung won 2 Gold Medals and 1 Silver Medal, making history for Nghe An sports when he became the first Nghe An athlete in diving to win a World Gold Medal. What is special is that in the Vietnamese Diving Team participating in this tournament, Nguyen Trong Dung is the only member who has never competed internationally.

“Before the tournament, the teachers in the coaching staff set the highest goal for me to win a Bronze Medal. But for an international tournament, for the sake of the country's flag, my team and I worked very hard to prepare for the tournament, spending 7-9 hours underwater and diving 9-10 thousand meters each day.

But after winning a Gold Medal in the 200m water jet event, a Silver Medal in the 400m water jet event and a Gold Medal in the 4x100 water jet relay, I was surprised with this result," Nguyen Trong Dung shared.

Then, in December 2022, at the 9th National Sports Festival held in Quang Ninh province, Nguyen Trong Dung continued to compete excellently when he won 2 Gold Medals in the 400m fin-snorkeling and 1,500m fin-snorkeling events. In the 400m fin-snorkeling event, with a time of 3 minutes 02.08 seconds, Dung broke the 2017 national record of 3 minutes 02.14 seconds.

Nguyen Trong Dung competes at SEA Games 32. Photo: Hai Hoang

With those outstanding achievements, Nguyen Trong Dung became a key member and a golden hope in the Vietnam Diving Team participating in the 32nd SEA Games. And not disappointing expectations, at this regional tournament, Nguyen Trong Dung won 1 Gold Medal with his teammates in the 4x200m fin-hose relay (breaking the SEA Games record), 1 individual Gold Medal in the 800m fin-hose event and 1 individual Silver Medal in the 400m fin-hose event.

Labor Medal at the age of 20

With his achievements and contributions to the Vietnamese Sports Delegation at the 32nd SEA Games, Nguyen Trong Dung was honored to be awarded the Third Class Labor Medal at the age of 20 on May 24 (Dung is one of 38 athletes and coaches of the Vietnamese Sports Delegation who achieved excellent results at the 32nd SEA Games and were awarded the Labor Medal - PV).

Nguyen Trong Dung won 2 Gold medals and 1 Silver medal at SEA Games 32. Photo: Hai Hoang

“When I was informed that some coaches and athletes of the diving team would be awarded the Labor Medal, even though I had completed the targets set before the SEA Games, I thought that honor was only for the other athletes, because I was the youngest athlete on the team and had been on the team for less than a year.

When the medal list was posted on the team's Zalo group, I was reading each name and found my name. I shouted with joy and did not think that this was my first SEA Games. I want to dedicate this honor to my family, teachers and relatives who encouraged and cheered me on a lot during my training and competition. Among them, many people came to my house to cheer for me with their parents and younger brother when I competed and when I won the Gold Medal, they called me on Facebook to cheer me on, which made me very emotional," Nguyen Trong Dung shared.

Nguyen Trong Dung received the Third Class Labor Medal. Photo: Hai Hoang

According to Nguyen Trong Dung, the Labor Medal is an encouragement for him to feel more responsible, thereby trying to practice and achieve even higher achievements in the future.