Encouraging athletic quotes

SEA Games Phạm Thanh Bảo celebrates his men's 100m breaststroke win at the 31st SEA Games in Hà Nội on Saturday. — VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Kiên HÀ NỘI — Phạm Thanh Bảo looked up at the electric board above the pool the moment he touched the wall at the end of the men's 100m breaststroke, before slapping the water in delight. He had beaten powerful rivals, including title favourite Maximillian Wei Ang, to win his first-ever SEA Games gold. Wei of Singapore finished second and Gagarin Nathaniel Yus of Indonesia was third. Making his victory all the sweeter was his time of 1min 1.17sec, a new national record. The previous record had stood since the 2009 SEA Games in Laos, set by the late Nguyễn Hữu Việt. Furthermore, his time also set a new Games record, beating the 1:01.46 set by James Daiparines of the Philippines at the last SEA Games. He is the first swimmer to set a new record at this year's Games. "I am so happy with this result. Thank you for all your support," Bảo … [Read more...] about Bảo swims his way out of poverty

Bùi Thị Thu Thảo training for the SEA Games 31. — Photo courtesy of Thảo Thanh Nga The SEA Games 31 marks the return of Bùi Thị Thu Thảo in the long jump category which will start today in Hà Nội. “I am ready for the event and to devote myself to the Games to bring home a gold medal,” Thảo said. At the region's biggest sports event in the Philippines in 2019, Thảo couldn’t participate because of injury. After that, she started a family and also did not set a date to return to competitions, partly because of her small child and partly because of the influence of the COVID–19 pandemic. After two years away from events, late last year, Thảo returned to compete at the National Athletics Championship, where she reminded everyone of her prowess to take gold with 6.27m. This achievement was still far from what she had done at the Asian Games in 2018 (6.55m) and SEA Games 29 (6.68m), but it was her great return nonetheless. In 2017, Thảo won a gold medal at the Asian championship, … [Read more...] about Long jumper Thảo ready to leap back into competition

Đầm Vạc Golf Course where the SEA Games 31's golf tournament takes place. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hùng VĨNH PHÚC — The northern province of Vĩnh Phúc, which will host competitions for Muay Thai and Golf at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31), has organised a number of exciting activities to promote the province's culture and tourism. The provincial Tourism Promotion and Information Centre has worked with local businesses to promote travel services, tours, ‘One Commune, One Products’ (OCOP) programme, and local specialities at competition venues, making it easier for sports fans and tourists to get information, travel advice, and guidance. In addition, the centre also collaborated with local travel agencies to build intra-provincial trips and send guides to take tourists to three of Vĩnh Phúc's most popular tourist attractions: Tây Thiên landscape complex, Tam Đảo tourism area, and the eco-tourism area of Đại Lải Lake. Tam Đảo is a famous tourist destination in Vĩnh … [Read more...] about Vĩnh Phúc making most of SEA Games to boost tourism