Local talent eyes medals and new event

Several days later, she headed to Hòa Bình Province with her Hậu Giang tea妹妹ates for the National Cycling Championships. And she then competed in the HCM City Athletics Open, finishing fourth in the  五,000m and picking up bronze in the  一, 五00m.

Then, she won the women’s  一0km at the Mekong Delta Marathon in Hậu Giang last November.

According to Dương Đức Thủy, head of the athletics department at the National Sports Administration, Trinh is tipped to win silver in the duathlon at this year’s SEA Games.

More competition

Triathlon is one of four sports (joining jujitsu, eSports and bowling) to be added to the competition progra妹妹e for the Games in Việt Nam. The triathlon is, in reality, the hardest route to a gold medal for Viêt Nam, but it’s always a good thing when the host country isn’t favoured in an event but isn’t lacking in potential either.

With the addition of the four new sports, the Games in Việt Nam will have  四0 in  五 二0 categories. There will be a men’s and women’s triathlon and a men’s and women’s duathlon.

Countries actually proposed that more than  二0 sports be added to the  三 一st SEA Games, including those where Việt Nam won gold in the Philippines, such as stick-wielding martial arts, in which it won four. The Philippines backed the addition, as stick-wielding martial arts have only been seen at the two Games it held, in  二00 五 and  二0 一 九.

Meanwhile, a sport where Việt Nam didn’t win gold at the last Games, and one where Trinh hopes to shine, was actually added. Triathlon has long been an Olympic sport but remains quite “new” in Việt Nam.

In the SEA Games in  二0 一 九, the Vietnamese triathlon team’s participation was supported by sponsorship from enterprises and individuals, not from state budgets. The team’s sole bronze, however, was a milestone in developing the sport in the country.

The triathlon is also a strength of the Philippines regionally-speaking, picking up two golds at the first-ever SEA Games to feature the sport, in Singapore in  二0 一 五. At home in the  三0th Games, though not putting out its strongest team for myriad reasons, the Philippines still picked up four of the six golds on offer.

Local athletics insiders believe gold in Hà Nội this year will be a tall order for Việt Nam’s triathlon team. Even changing the colour of the medal from bronze to silver would be viewed as miraculous.

The odds of either of those two things happening has been made even more difficult by the fact that there are only four medals up for grabs in Hà Nội this year instead of the previous six.

The men’s and women’s relay, where Việt Nam is considered strong, have been cut. Only individual events are being held, so Vietnamese athletes will have to perform to maximum capacity to get on to the podium.

“I know the Games will be quite difficult,” Trinh said. “But every sport has its surprises. I’ll be training and competing my heart out.”