My dream is to... cry at the SEA Games!

(Baonghean.vn) - This year, Le Thi Tham is just 23 years old, but the number of medals she has won in weightlifting far exceeds that figure. For this young woman, the dream of competing in the SEA Games seems no longer too far away…

Contrary to my initial preconceived notions about weightlifters, Le Thi Tham surprised everyone with her round face and ever-present bright smile. Born and raised in a family of four siblings in the rural area of ​​Dien Thang (Dien Chau), Tham was loved by her neighbors from a young age for her friendly, talkative, and cheerful personality. Her father was a soldier often away from home, and her mother toiled tirelessly in the fields, so the four siblings learned to be independent and self-reliant from an early age. Le Thi Tham shared: “Because of that independence, all four of us decided our own paths, and our parents completely trusted and supported us. My family loves sports; all of us are key members of the commune and district volleyball teams. Even I, initially, thought I would pursue a career in volleyball!”

Le Thi Tham (second from the left) won the gold medal at the Southeast Asian Weightlifting Championships.

That was her belief, but in 2007, a chance encounter with Coach Vu Le Hoang changed Le Thi Tham's life. “In 2007, I was in 9th grade at Dien Thang Secondary School. Coach Vu Le Hoang was a friend of my homeroom teacher. One day, my teacher told Coach Hoang that there was a girl in my class who was very confident in sports, had good physical strength, and was very talented. It wasn't until much later that Coach Vu Le Hoang had the opportunity to come to my hometown and meet me. Later, the coach said that from the first glance, he saw that I had the potential for weightlifting,” Le Thi Tham recalled.

So, after meeting with, encouraging, and preparing the parents, Coach Vu Le Hoang took Le Thi Tham to Vinh City to introduce and train in weightlifting. In the eyes of young Le Thi Tham at that time, weightlifting was a terrifying sport, because just seeing the weights weighing tens or hundreds of kilograms made Tham burst into tears! "I cried because I was so scared, imagining the weights would... fall on me. But Coach Vu Le Hoang encouraged me, saying I should just patiently spend a week getting acquainted, watching the athletes train, and then, if I didn't like it, he would transfer me to volleyball!" Unexpectedly, as if by fate, 5 days later, Tham proactively sought out the coach and asked for guidance to become involved with this new sport.

Eight years have passed since she started pursuing weightlifting, and the once tearful girl has made significant strides in her career. She has won countless medals in various competitions: the National University Sports Games, the National Youth Weightlifting Championships… and has broken numerous weightlifting records. Most recently, she won a gold medal at the Southeast Asian Weightlifting Championships, bringing glory to the Vietnamese sports delegation. “The final match against the Indonesian athlete at the Southeast Asian Weightlifting Championships was an unforgettable experience, as my opponent and I competed fiercely, kilogram by kilogram. In the snatch, I lifted 90kg, in the clean and jerk 125kg, and the total was 215kg; while my Indonesian opponent almost reached 112kg in the clean and jerk, and the total was only 3kg less than me,” Lê Thị Thắm shared. And Thắm recalled that the moment the winner was announced, when the national anthem and the Vietnamese flag were raised, she couldn't hold back her tears of happiness. "Now I'm working hard in training with the national weightlifting team, so that one day, not too far away, I can realize my dream of… crying on the highest podium at the SEA Games," Lê Thị Thắm humorously shared.

Phuoc Anh