Little known private life, simple when talking about private happiness

Nguyen Thi Oanh won a double gold medal for Vietnamese athletics in the women’s 1500m and women’s 500m on the first day of the 31st SEA Games.

On the morning of May 14, at My Dinh Stadium, Nguyen Thi Oanh brought home the first gold medal for Vietnamese athletics at the 31st SEA Games. Immediately afterwards, after winning two gold medals in the 1,500m and 5,000m races. On the first day of competition, track and field athlete Nguyen Thi Oanh continued to win a third gold medal in the 3,000m obstacle course and the Games record.

Athlete Nguyen Thi Oanh and teammate Pham Thi Hong Le put on their country’s flag after they both crossed the finish line in the women’s 500m.

On the second day of athletics competition, player Nguyen Thi Oanh excellently defended the gold medal in the 3,000m obstacle course with a parameter of 9 minutes 52 seconds 6, and broke the record. was isolated in 2019 at the 30th SEA Games in the Philippines with the score of 10 minutes 00 seconds 02.

Nguyen Thi Oanh is from Bac Giang, a famous land that produces many key players in athletics, badminton, and shuttlecock. When she was a student, she, like many of her peers, spent most of her time studying and helping her parents with housework.

The turning point that brought Oanh’s life to another direction came quite early, at the age of 9. Seeing a true track and field competition for the first time, the elementary school student immediately fixed her eyes on her sister’s steps on the track. “I didn’t have any special hobbies. But the cheers and admiring eyes of everyone for her made me wish. I think one day I can be like that too”, Oanh recalls.

Queen of athletics Nguyen Thi Oanh brought home a gold medal for Vietnamese sports at this SEA Games. (photo: Tuan Anh/SKĐS)

Since then, in her hometown of My Ha, Lang Giang district, in the afternoon sun on the hills, Oanh still goes to school every day. But the 4th grader at this time had prepared herself with a mindset – to become a track and field champion.

Teachers at the school facilitated Oanh to participate in district and provincial athletics tournaments and won the first medals in her life. She quickly revealed the qualities of a promising athlete. Oanh is faster and stronger than her opponent of the same age, despite losing in appearance.

There, Oanh caught the eye of the Bac Giang sports delegation scouts. However, her rather modest height, only about 1m50 and weighing less than 40kg, almost made her not selected.

At the age of 15, Nguyen Thi Oanh packed her bags and went to Bac Giang Sports Gifted School to pursue the path of becoming a professional athlete. Talking about this period, athlete Nguyen Thi Oanh admitted that she had a rather impulsive moment: “There is a special thing that I have just shared now that I have been going to the unit gifted school in Bac Giang for a week because I miss my home. I cried for hours to ask to go home. When my parents went down to pick me up and talked with the coach, I changed my mind to stay. Now thinking about it, I feel sorry for hurting my parents. It was raining in the middle of the night. Due to the strong wind, my parents had to go from home by motorbike to school, I studied for more than 20km with my desire to pick me up, but to sit for a while, I had to go back. me with constant worries.”

Nguyen Thi Oanh (right) and Pham Thi Hong Le (left). Photo: Tuan Anh/SKĐS

The idea that success from here will spread, suddenly at the end of 2014, Oanh had serious health problems. After the 3,000m silver medal in overcoming obstacles won in Myanmar, Oanh “disappeared” from the athletics village for a long time.

“It was one day at the end of December 2014, I suddenly felt that my face had a lot of swelling. People say it’s just allergies, but I feel insecure, I know my body well, so I should go to the doctor and see the doctor. was diagnosed with glomerulonephritis”, Oanh smiled lightly when recalling that period. For athletes, heart and kidney diseases are always an obsession, possibly the end of their career.

“My first thought was to retire. It was difficult to accept. But after a period of follow-up, I learned that my disease was just in the early stages, there was still a chance to cure it,” Oanh said.

She was forced to give up all the awards for a long time after that to focus on treatment. “I always think about the difficulties I’ve had to go through during the past five months. Those things motivate me to try, fight and win against myself,” said the runner born in 1995. Oanh’s athletics career was interrupted for the first time. She was away from the track for almost a year.

For professional athletes, getting back in shape after an event is never easy. Nguyen Thi Oanh perseveres with recovery exercises to regain her peak feeling. She also changed herself to get used to new content, not tied to a single medal.

Oanh is the leading star of Southeast Asia in the content of the 3,000m obstacle course. However, it was not until 2019 that the girl from Bac Giang province fulfilled her dream of standing on the podium with a gold medal in this content. The “pepper” girl likens it to obstacles and challenges in the process of training.

Oanh always feels happy when conquering life’s obstacles and competing. The female athlete knows that she can be exhausted, tired, and fall, but when all efforts and strong will are promoted, she is proud of the image of a red flag with a yellow star on her chest.

The family of athletics queen Nguyen Thi Oanh celebrates the glorious moment. Photo: Tuan Anh/SKĐS.

SEA Games 30 in 2019 ranked 3,000 m obstacle course and 5,000 m one-day competition. But then, the moment burst with joy when Oanh broke the SEA Games record in the 3,000 m obstacle course in the evening and the 5,000 m gold medal in the morning. There is no barrier that can stop SEA Games champion Nguyen Thi Oanh from reaching out. Before that, the girl “snail pepper” also successfully defended the title in the content of 1,500 m. And “Ỉn Oanh” is one of the few successful athletes in both middle and long distances.

During the congress at home, Oanh completed the first race with the women’s 1,500 m gold medal. In the afternoon of May 14, she continued to win the 5,000m gold medal and then the gold medal with the content of 3,000 obstacle course.

Talking about her own happiness, Nguyen Thi Oanh once shared simply: “I think when fate comes to meet someone who appreciates her, understands her life, that’s the love she wants, not they come just for beauty. I used to be shaken before, but now I am still busy with a tight schedule of training and competitions, so I have not focused on love. I hope my partner will understand and love me more because Sport is a tough sport, especially athletics that must be practiced outdoors, even when it’s sunny or rainy.

Moments on SEA Games athletics track

According to KN