SEA Games 30 champion has a relationship with Nghe An sports

At the 30th SEA Games, the host country, the Philippines, cut some events, and Nghe An only had 2 high-achieving athletes participating. However, both athletes brought glory to the country, including Pham Thi Hong Thanh in weightlifting. This was the first time this girl participated in an international tournament like the 30th SEA Games.

After the snatch because her Myanmar opponent was eliminated, Vietnam's weightlifter is sure to win a medal in the women's 64 kg category because previously, Thai athletes, the weightlifting powerhouse in Southeast Asia, were banned from competing due to a doping scandal. The chance of winning a silver medal is very high, but to hope for a gold medal, her opponent is Ando Elreen Ann, a weightlifter whose achievements far surpass Hong Thanh's.

In the final, Ando Ann of the host Philippines completed the 110 kg clean and jerk, then 115 kg. The total lift of the Philippine athlete was now 16 kg more than Hong Thanh and was ready to celebrate her victory. To win the gold medal, she had to conquer the 124 kg weight. In the history of competition, Hong Thanh had never surpassed the 123 kg clean and jerk, only occasionally lifting this weight during training, but at the decisive moment, she turned the impossible into possible.

Successfully lifting 124 kg to increase the total score to 214 kg, Hong Thanh had a spectacular comeback, surpassing his opponent by exactly 1 kg and stepping up to the podium to receive the gold medal while his opponent cried. A bold and reckless decision by Hong Thanh because if he failed, he could easily have suffered a serious injury.

That achievement of Hong Thanh surprised both her opponents and her coach. However, few people know that Pham Thi Hong Thanh was born and raised in Chi Linh (Hai Duong), in a family with no sports tradition. And since childhood, she completely did not realize that she had a talent and love for weightlifting.

Hong Thanh has a very pretty appearance. Photo: FBNV

At the age of 14, after finishing eighth grade, during a summer vacation in Nghe An to visit relatives, Hong Thanh was introduced by an uncle who was the leader of the Nghe An Sports Training and Training Center to learn swimming to improve her health. However, her innate talent led her to the weightlifting gym, not to water sports.

When she was young, although she did not have to do much housework, Hong Thanh's arm muscles developed strangely. Every time she went to class, she often arm wrestled with the boys and had no opponents. Hong Thanh recounted: "At first, I only went to Nghe An to visit my aunt and uncle, but when my boss asked me if I wanted to learn how to swim, I agreed. Later, I did not think that I would have such a connection with weightlifting."

When Hong Thanh had not yet had a chance to swim, coach Vu Duc Hoang of the Nghe An weightlifting team discovered her potential and asked for Hong Thanh to join his team. In the first days of training, seeing her seniors drop hundred-pound weights made her panic. After a few sessions, her body had not yet adapted much, so it was inevitable that she would feel sore and tired. Even walking normally felt heavy.

Pham Thi Hong Thanh overcame difficult days when she had to leave home early to train in Nghe An. Photo: FBNV

After 3 years of weightlifting, Hong Thanh once intended to quit her sports career and go to Korea with her mother to live and study there. Finally, Hong Thanh was given the right to decide her own path by her mother and she decided to stay in Nghe An. Hong Thanh confided: “I had to leave my family early. Thanks to the encouragement of my teachers and the desire to do something for Nghe An sports, I am determined to pursue this path to the end.”

From a potential athlete of Nghe An, Hong Thanh was noticed by coaches and joined the national team, went to Hanoi to train from August 2018 and was selected to compete in the 30th SEA Games. Hong Thanh revealed: "The training trip in China, only for athletes competing in the SEA Games, also had a great impact on my success. This period helped me make great progress in terms of technique and more importantly, the medical department of the training center in China cured me of a persistent injury."

After her success at the 30th SEA Games, she received a lot of attention and love from fans. A businesswoman in Ho Chi Minh City asked for her account number and sent her a sum of money because she admired her spectacular victory.

At the age of 20, weightlifter Pham Thi Hong Thanh promises to achieve even more success. Photo: NVCC

Not complacent about her success, right after the 30th SEA Games, she returned to training and continued to participate in the 2019 National Weightlifting Championship. In the 64kg weight class, Hong Thanh brought home 3 gold medals for the Nghe An sports delegation, contributing greatly to the achievement of winning a total of 28 medals in 2019.

Currently, she is training at the National Sports Center. Sharing about her upcoming goals, Hong Thanh said: "I am not in the investment group for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but I have to try my best to maintain and achieve higher results. The more competitions I can participate in, the better. The goal is to aim for the 2021 SEA Games next year in Vietnam."

SEA Games 30 champion wins 3 gold medals in national weightlifting 2019

(Baonghean.vn) - After impressing at the 30th SEA Games with a gold medal in the 64 kg weight category for the Vietnamese Sports Delegation, weightlifter Pham Thi Hong Thanh continued to maintain her impressive form at the 2019 National Weightlifting Championship.