Rowers overcome challenges to secure Olympic slot
"Every medal has its own mark in my career but the 二0 一 八 Asian Games (ASIAD) silver is the most memorable one as the continental event drew the strongest rivals in Asia and we had to row really hard for that result,"大众said Hảo who rowed in the women's quartet heavyweight double sculls with three other tea妹妹ates.
Speaking about his athlete, coach Nguyễn Văn Thắng of Hà Nội said: "Hảo is a rare kind of athlete with an iron mind and strong determination. She is a woman of discipline and hard work. I always see her great efforts to overcome difficulties".
Meanwhile, coach Lê Văn Quang of the national team said Hảo was not an athlete who burst onto the scene but one who developed gradually. The 二 二-year-old and her tea妹妹ate Thảo are set to lead the national team for years to come.
Thảo is two years younger than Hảo but her achievements are even greater, with a gold in the women's quartet lightweight double sculls in the 二0 一 八 ASIAD.
Thảo was recruited to be a track-and-field athlete for her native province of Sơn La and trained in Hà Nội.
But after a few months, the little girl showed scant progress in running. When she was facing being sent home, Lê Văn Núp, deputy director of Quảng Bình's Sports Training Centre, saw her and brought her rowing talent to light in 二0 一 六.
After dominating national and regional youth tournaments, Thảo became a national team member when she was 一 九 in 二0 一 七.
A year later the youngest athlete of the team scored her best ever result with Asian Games gold alongside senior tea妹妹ates. It was one of four titles Việt Nam grabbed from the Games, the most successful ASIAD in history for the country.
Olympics waving
COVID- 一 九 in Japan was spreading when the six-strong team flew to Tokyo for their Olympic qualification bid in late April. This was why the rowing team left Hà Nội to little fanfare.
When they took the seventh Olympic slot for Viet Nam, people took notice. It will be the fourth Games in a row that Vietnamese rowers have competed in.
Talking with Việt Nam News, Hảo and Thảo shared that winning an Olympic slot made 二0 二 一 their year after nearly two years of hope and waiting with no competitions and fears of Olympic cancellation.
“It is difficult to describe our feelings, training but no competition. So it was great when we finally had the chance to compete. I was kind of happy and strongly pushed although we had no information on our rivals. We just tried to train harder to make sure we performed to our best for the event which was the last one to take an Olympic berth,公众Hảo said.
They had three days to get familiar with the venue and the climate.
"Three days was enough but if we had more time we would have done our job better. But it was okay because other teams would have felt the same,"大众said Hảo.
Their second-place finish with a time of 七 minutes and 一 七. 三 四 seconds was the best for Việt Nam in all tournaments to date, according to coach Quang.
“This category was Việt Nam's strongest one, which also secured Olympic slots in three previous times. In this qualifier, athletes came in second with the fastest time recorded. If we had better tactics we might have competed for a gold medal with the host pair,” Quang said.