 Vietnamese track and field athlete Nguyen Thi Oanh (photo: nld.com.vn) |
Nguyen Thi Oanh, 28, is the best middle-distance runner in Southeast Asia. She first competed at the 2013 SEA Games and won a silver medal in the 3,000m with obstacles event.
She has dominated the 1,500m and 3,000m event in the last three SEA Games and holds the record for the 3,000m obstacle race: 9 minutes 52.44 seconds. She won a bronze medal for the 3,000m obstacle race at the Asian Games in 2018 and a gold medal for the 1,500m race at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in 2023.
At the on-going SEA Games 32, Oanh was entered in four events: 1,500m, 3,000m with obstacles, 5,000m, and 10,000m. On Monday, the first day of track and field competition, Oanh easily won a gold medal in the 5,000m race. She was supposed to run the 3,000m on Tuesday, and the 1,500m on Thursday, which would have given her one day to rest and recover.
However, on Monday afternoon, the organizers announced a change of schedule. Oanh had to run the 1,500m at 5:30PM on Tuesday and the 3,000m 20 minutes after that. She accepted the bad news without complaint and cruised to 2 more gold medals, making SEA Games history.
Oanh told VOV following her victory: “It was a very surprising schedule. I and my coaches were very worried. But we tried to figure out our best strategy and I had to put in my best effort.”
After winning gold in the 1,500m, she immediately got her head into the 3,000m with obstacles. On the final lap, she made a strong kick to pass the Philippines runner who had led up until then, and was more than 50m ahead when she crossed the finish line to win her 3rd gold medal at this SEA Games.
“Right now, I have a lot of mixed emotions and I'm really tired. I’m very grateful for the encouragement of the audience and the Vietnamese delegation members. That helped me finish two difficult races in a very short time. I feel so happy,” said Oanh.
Oanh’s achievement impressed the audience and the media. The AFP news agency said Vietnam's athletes have dominated regional track and field and the international press called Oanh winning 3 gold medals the feat of the 32nd SEA Games. Oanh has now won 11 gold medals in her career so far.