The "flowers" of high-performance sports in Nghe An.

Dedicated track and field coach

Among the female high-performance sports coaches at the Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center, Ms. Ha Thi Kim Anh – Head of the Athletics Department – ​​is one of the most experienced and accomplished.

Born in 1976 in Son Thinh commune (now An Hoa Thinh commune), Huong Son district, Ha Tinh province, in 1990, after winning a gold medal in athletics at the Phu Dong Sports Festival of Nghe Tinh province, Ha Thi Kim Anh was selected to join the Provincial Sports Training Center. For nine years (1990-1998), as a high-achieving athlete for the former Nghe Tinh province and present-day Nghe An province, Ha Thi Kim Anh won numerous medals at youth competitions, national championships, and the National Sports Games. In 1994, while still competing, she was sent to study sports coaching at the Central College of Sports and Physical Education No. 3 (now Da Nang University of Sports and Physical Education).

In 1999, after retiring from competition, she transitioned to coaching, tasked with discovering talent among students in athletics. In 2014, following the retirement of veteran coach Nguyen Van Bang, she was appointed Head of the Athletics Department at the Nghe An Sports Training Center (now the Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center). Since then, the province's athletics sector has gradually flourished.

In particular, from 2018 to the present, the performance of athletes from Nghe An has improved significantly in both youth and national championships, with names such as Nguyen Dinh Vu, To Thi Nga, Luong Thi Mui, Kha Thi Thanh Truc,Le Thi Tuyet Mai…Among them, the most outstanding are Kha Thi Thanh Truc with a Silver Medal at the 32nd SEA Games and a Gold Medal at the 9th National Sports Games; and Le Thi Tuyet Mai with 4 Gold Medals at the 2023 Southeast Asian Junior Athletics Championships…

Currently, the athletics department of the Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center has 31 athletes, of which 20 are female. Understanding the difficulties faced by female athletes in pursuing high-performance sports, coach Ha Thi Kim Anh not only provides direct professional guidance but also cares deeply about their lives like a mother.

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“Women face many difficulties and pressures when participating in sports training and competitions, such as physical conditions and family responsibilities. Personally, in 2022, during training with the team in preparation for the 9th National Sports Games, I had to be away from home for five months, even though my eldest child was in 8th grade and my second child was only in 3rd grade at the time. Therefore, I try to be as close to the female athletes as possible to guide and encourage them to train hard and compete to achieve the best results.”

Ms. Ha Thi Kim Anh - Head of Athletics Department (Nghe An Provincial Sports Training and Competition Center).

A highly ambitious diver.

With her pretty face and charming smile, since 2022, diver Nguyen Thi Tu Anh has been one of the outstanding young female athletes of the Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center.

Also born in Huong Son district, Ha Tinh province, but due to family circumstances, Nguyen Thi Tu Anh (born in 2007) has lived with her maternal grandparents in Quang Trung ward (Vinh city) since childhood. In 2017, after finishing 4th grade at Quang Trung Primary School, during the summer break, Nguyen Thi Tu Anh was sent by her grandparents to learn swimming at the swimming pool of the Nghe An Sports Training Center (now the Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center). There, Tu Anh was discovered and selected by coach Le Xuan Cuong to join the center.

In 2020, Tu Anh had her first opportunity to compete in the National Club Swimming and Diving Championships in Thanh Hoa province. At this competition, the 13-year-old won 4 gold medals, 1 silver medal, and 1 bronze medal, thus achieving the level 1 high-performance athlete status.

At the end of 2021, a turning point came for Tu Anh when she switched from swimming to diving. “Coach Cuong told me that because my lower body is a bit heavy, it would be difficult to achieve higher performance in swimming. He also suggested I switch to diving training. Having watched the seniors in diving practice, I found it very interesting, so I quickly agreed,” Nguyen Tu Anh recounted.

In June 2022, after six months of training in diving, Nguyen Thi Tu Anh participated in her first competition in this sport: the National Age Group Swimming and Diving Championships held in Thua Thien Hue province. At this competition, Tu Anh won 3 gold medals, 1 silver medal, and 2 bronze medals, including breaking the national record in the 50m event. In July 2022, at the National Junior Swimming and Diving Championships held in Da Nang, Tu Anh also won 1 gold medal and 2 bronze medals. These achievements further strengthened Tu Anh's determination to continue pursuing diving.

2023 was a hugely successful year for Nguyen Thi Tu Anh, with impressive achievements at domestic competitions in the 50m, 100m, 200m, and 100m finswimming events. In the six competitions she participated in, she won gold medals in five of them, including two gold medals at the National Outstanding Athletes' Diving Championships and four gold medals at the National Club Diving Championships. The remaining gold medals were at the National 25m Pool Diving Championships and the National Age Group Diving Championships. In addition, she also won numerous silver and bronze medals.

Tú Anh's impressive achievements in domestic tournaments led to her call-up to the National Youth Team.Asian Junior Diving ChampionshipsThe 2023 edition was held in Thailand. In her first participation in an international tournament, Tu Anh competed calmly and confidently, winning 3 gold medals and 1 bronze medal.

As of 2024, Nguyen Thi Tu Anh is one of the most accomplished athletes of the Nghe An Sports Training and Competition Center, having won 5 Gold medals, 1 Silver medal, and 1 Bronze medal at the National Club Swimming and Diving Championships; 3 Silver medals at the National Youth Swimming and Diving Championships; and 3 Bronze medals at the National Swimming and Diving Championships. “Due to the nature of the sport, which involves extensive outdoor training on hot, sunny days, my skin gets tanned, but I am determined to stay with this sport long-term and strive to achieve even more success, especially at regional, continental, and world competitions,” Nguyen Thi Tu Anh shared.