Memorable moments
(Baonghean) - Although only half of the SEA Games have been completed, they have already left behind incredibly impressive moments with the performances of the athletes and the beautiful actions of Vietnamese fans in the hearts of international friends. Bao Nghe An would like to present some impressive moments at the SEA Games 28…
"Queen" of the green track
With relentless effort, exceptional talent, and advantages that any athlete would want to possess, such as excellent physical fitness and an arm span 1.15 times her body length, Nguyen Thi Anh Vien is making a big impact in the swimming competition at the 28th SEA Games.
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| 19-year-old swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien on the swimming track. |
On the very first day of competition (June 6th), as expected, Nguyen Thi Anh Vien won two gold medals in the women's 800m freestyle and 400m individual medley, setting two new records. Remarkably, these two SEA Games 28 records were achieved in just over 30 minutes. For athletes competing in middle-distance and long-distance swimming events, they need a lot of energy to complete their race and also require significant time to recover. But this swimmer only needed 30 minutes – an incredibly short time.
On the second day, Nguyen Thi Anh Vien continued to demonstrate her dominance in the swimming arena at the Southeast Asian regional competition. The 18-year-old from Can Tho once again broke the SEA Games record in the women's 200m backstroke with a time of 2 minutes 14 seconds 12 to win her third gold medal, thus breaking the record she herself set in Myanmar in 2013 with 2 minutes 14 seconds 80. Afterward, Anh Vien finished first in the women's 200m individual medley with a time of 2 minutes 13 seconds 53, bringing home the fourth gold medal for the Vietnamese delegation. This is also a new record in SEA Games history. The previous record was set by Malaysian athlete Siow Yi Ting in Vientiane (Laos) six years ago with a time of 2 minutes 14 seconds 57… Thus, in each of her strongest events, Anh Vien brought home a gold medal for the Vietnamese sports delegation and broke a SEA Games record. As of June 10th, swimmer Anh Vien had won a total of 8 gold medals and broken 8 SEA Games records.
To describe her, perhaps no words are more impressive than the words of her opponent: "My God, how can there be someone as talented as Anh Vien?" - Samantha Yeo, a swimmer from the Singapore national team.
22 years under the "stride of a foster brother"
On June 9th, a 22-year-old SEA Games record in the 5,000m race came to an end, achieved by athlete Nguyen Van Lai. With a time of 14 minutes 4 seconds 82, Nguyen Van Lai successfully defended his gold medal in the 5,000m event and shattered the SEA Games record of 14 minutes 8 seconds 97, set by Malaysian athlete Ramachandran Murusamy 22 years ago at the 1993 SEA Games in Singapore. Second place went to Agus Prayogo (Indonesia), who finished more than 10 seconds behind Van Lai.
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| The lightning-fast sprint of cook Nguyen Van Lai. |
After finishing high school, he joined the army and was sent to attend a basic cooking course for the 3rd Battalion - Military School of the 1st Army Corps. Despite his small stature, he possessed good health and passion, and he was selected to participate in army running competitions, thus developing a passion for middle-distance and long-distance running. At the age of 22, Nguyen Van Lai began his professional sports career.
Despite his humble beginnings, after just over six years of training, in addition to his achievements in domestic competitions, at the 27th SEA Games in late 2013, he brilliantly won two gold medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m events. Particularly at this 28th SEA Games, even at the age of 29 – an age not considered peak for a long-distance runner – his miraculous sprint broke the 22-year-old record held by his foster brother, Captain Nguyen Van Lai.
Thao Anh