SEA Games player crowned 21km champion at MetaSports Marathon Nha Trang
When the clock hit 5:30, Trinh also reached the finish line. The female athlete who won the 32nd SEA Games silver medal completed the half marathon in 1 hour 30 minutes and 1 second. This is also the second time, Equation has won the MetaSports Marathon.
After reaching the finish line, the female athlete walked to stretch her muscles, saying she was happy that she had experienced an interesting journey. She commented that the Nha Trang running track is beautiful, and the cool air in the early morning is a favorable factor. However, Luong Son pass created a big challenge, causing her and everyone to exert more effort.
The 27-year-old runner attended the MetaSports Marathon Nha Trang for the second time, quite familiar with the steep terrain. She strategize the first half of the stage to keep her strength to climb, and when she turns, she accelerates to achieve the best results. "When I reached the foot of the pass, I was 150 meters from the leader - Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc. I was quite pressured because I did not expect her to run so well. Downhill 6km, I accelerated to pass, maintaining a 4:10 pace for the pass. to the finish line," said the 21km female champion.
Compared to VM Nha Trang 2022, Trinh's achievement is shortened by four minutes. She is happy with this number because the goal is set 1 hour and 33 minutes before the tournament. The result was also unexpected because Trinh had a fever of 39 degrees Celsius two days ago. "I was also worried, but determined to put on my shoes, run and listen to my body so that I wouldn't overdo it and still have the best performance. ", Trinh took a sip of water, recalled.
This is not Trinh's best performance at the MetaSports Marathon. She once set the finish line in 1 hour and 28 minutes at the Midnight Ho Chi Minh City tournament - the first time she won the women's 21km distance. Although she has not broken her own record yet, Trinh analyzed that, compared to the steep hilly terrain and hot summer weather, the female athlete rated this as the best result she achieved.
Runner participated in 5 MetaSports Marathon tournaments, won first - second in age group, in the end... When asked why she worked so hard to run the race, Trinh said she loved everything from the organization to the vegetarian route, the support staff. enthusiastic support. Before the race, the bib distribution was also arranged scientifically, supporting the runners well. Arriving at the place, the volunteer repeatedly invited Trinh to use water and wipe a towel to quickly recover strength.
Phuong Trinh started practicing sports from the 8th grade. Her family lived in KBang district, Gia Lai province with many hills and mountains, so her love for sports soon blossomed in her. Having achieved high results at local competitions, she was selected to be in the seed group for training at the Gia Lai Provincial Sports Center. The little girl was never far from home, and her parents were worried and refused the offer. Trinh cried continuously for many days, from begging to eloquently persuading, promising not to disappoint her parents. Her parents finally nodded in agreement.
Nearly 100 km from home to the city, having to eat, live and study at the center, only go home once a week, the 8-year-old girl "cries off the mattress" in the first week in the dormitory. Trinh's room has 6 people, the big sisters constantly have to comfort, one day it is thanks to the teacher to calm her down. But every morning when going out to run, the runner is like a different person, full of energy, overcoming the most difficult exercises.
A year later, she participated in the first national tournament, achieved high results, marking a milestone in her career in competition. At SEA Games 2019, Nguyen Thi Phuong Trinh was constantly mentioned by the press with the phrase: the first Vietnamese player to win a medal in the triathlon.
"It was also the first year that Vietnam participated in this event and my first time attending the SEA Games. The coaches only set the goal of winning Indochina, so that bronze medal with us is historic that everyone often joke: copper is more precious than gold", the female athlete beamed when repeating.
But not long after, Trinh suffered from Achilles tendonitis and had to stop exercising for treatment. She only told her parents with minor injuries, silently crying after every phone call with her family. At times it was so painful, she thought about giving up. At that time, Trinh's coach encouraged: "If you want to end, look at the beginning". That sentence was like a pat on the shoulder that made the 22-year-old girl regain her motivation, she remembered the first days she came to the center, the promise she made with her parents.
Talking about difficult days, Trinh sheds tears and admits that she is wet and emotional. She said that every day, she constantly thanked her family, teachers and friends for fueling the fire to get through the most difficult time in her life. A year later, the female athlete almost recovered. At the 32nd SEA Games in May this year, she won the first silver medal in the duathlon (running - cycling - jogging) content of the modern triathlon (triathlon).
After completing VM Nha Trang 2023, Trinh made an appointment with her friends to eat a delicious seafood meal. In the coming time, female runners will continue to conquer new tournaments as a challenge to improve their skills.
