The Southeast Asian Youth Athletics Championships 2023 took place from December 7 to 9, marking the final regional-level competition of the year for athletes under 18. The Vietnamese track and field team participated with 32 athletes, including runner Le Thi Tuyet Mai from the Training and Competition Center for Physical Education and Sports of Nghe An.
At this championship, Tuyet Mai remarkably won 4 Gold Medals, including 1 individual Gold Medal in the 400m race, and 3 Gold Medals in relay events: women 4x1,400m, women 4x400m, and mixed 4x400m.
Notably, in the women's 4x400m relay event, Le Thi Tuyet Mai, along with her teammates Ngo Thi My Duyen, Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh, and Vu Thi Tra My, set a championship record with a total time of 3'48"09 to win the Gold Medal, breaking the record set by Thailand's youth track and field team of 3'49"79 in 2014.
Born in 2006, Le Thi Tuyet Mai is the youngest in a Tho ethnic minority family in Nghia Mai commune (Nghia Dan district). This female athlete experienced a challenging childhood when her father passed away early due to cancer, leaving her mother to single-handedly raise her and her two siblings.
In September 2020, Le Thi Tuyet Mai was selected for Nghe An Province's Training and Competition Center's track and field team. Prior to winning 3 Gold Medals at the Southeast Asian Youth Athletics Championships 2023, this runner achieved several notable accomplishments, including a Gold Medal in the mixed 4x400m relay at the National Youth Track and Field Championships 2022; a Gold Medal in the 400m and 400m hurdles at the National Youth Track and Field Championships 2023; and a Gold Medal in the 400m and 400m hurdles at the National Junior Athletics Championships 2023.
At the end of October, in her first participation in the National Track and Field Championships - the highest domestic-level competition in the athletics field, Le Thi Tuyet Mai earned a Silver Medal in the 4x200m relay, a Bronze in the 4x400m relay, and another Bronze in the women's 4x400m hurdles.
