Seahawks first preseason game

/ August 31, 2017

Mission accomplished: Vietnam finishes third at 2017 SEA Games

Weightlifter Hoang Tan Tai secured Vietnam’s very last medal at the 2017 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games on Wednesday, enabling the country to meet its medal count and ranking targets. The weightlifter won a bronze medal in the men’s 85kg event, Vietnam’s only medal on the last day of official competition. Vietnam wrapped up its SEA Games journey as the event’s second runner-up, with 58 gold, 50 silver and 60 bronze medals. Hosts Malaysia top the leader board with 145 golds, followed by Thailand, with 72 golds. Vietnam’s target was to win between 49 and 59 gold medals and finish in the top three on the medal tally. The third-place target seemed in jeopardy on Wednesday when Singapore snuck up behind them on the leader board, putting Vietnam ahead by only a single gold medal. However, by the end of the final day, the Singaporeans failed to win an event and Vietnam had its third-place spot secured. A closing ceremony was held on the final night to conclude the 11-day competition and its 404 events in 38 different sports. Vietnam's weightlifter Nguyen Tan Tai (R) poses with his bronze medal. What’s more important than meeting the medal and ranking goal for Vietnam is that Vietnamese athletes exhibited outstanding performances in Olympic sports, team leader Tran Duc Phan said at a press conference on Thursday. Olympic sports are sports contested in the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. Vietnam has exerted effort to improve the performance of its athletes in such important sports as track-and-field and swimming. Vietnam won 46 gold medals in Olympic sports at SEA Games. “I don’t think we should care much about whether we finished third or fourth at SEA Games,” he told reporters in Malaysia. “What’s more important is we have reaped many successes in several Olympic sports, such as swimming and track-and-field.” The track-and-field team secured 17 gold medals in total, followed by the swimming squad, …

/ February 12, 2021

Tokyo Olympics chief set to quit over sexist remarks in another blow to the Games

TOKYO -- Tokyo 2020 Olympics chief Yoshiro Mori is expected to resign on Friday over sexist comments he made early this month, with the mayor of the Olympic village, Saburo Kawabuchi, saying Mori had asked him to take over. Kawabuchi said he was in tears before a meeting where he accepted Mori’s request on Thursday. “Mr. Mori was straightforward saying ‘I want you to take over now this happened’,” Kawabuchi, 84, told reporters late on Thursday. “I thought how hard it must be for him and I couldn’t stop crying,” said Kawabuchi. The 83-year-old Mori, a former Japanese prime minister, sparked a global outcry with sexist comments that women talk too much, which he made during an Olympic committee meeting. Mori has apologised for his comments but has so far not resigned despite growing calls for him to step down. His resignation less than six months before the Summer Olympics are scheduled to begin are likely to raise new doubts over the viability of holding the postponed Games this year. Games officials are already struggling with how to hold a safe Olympics, with tens of thousands of athletes and possibly spectators, during the coronavirus pandemic. Kawabuchi, who has represented Japan in football at the 1964 Olympics and is a former Japan Football Association president, said he wants Mori to play a consulting role in the Games to help make the event a success. The choice of Kawabuchi prompted questions on social media about whether there was no better alternative than an older, male figure. Later on Friday, the Tokyo Olympics organising committee, which has not officially commented on Mori’s resignation, plans to hold a meeting of its council and executive board, followed by a press conference. Mori will explain his position at Friday’s meeting, Japanese Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto told parliament, referring to a phone call with Mori. Hashimoto said the government would continue to work with other parties including the International …

/ August 2, 2017

Vietnam has high hopes for top swimmer Anh Vien at upcoming SEA Games

Vietnam can rest assured that swimming super star Nguyen Thi Anh Vien will score big for the country during the 2017 Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Malaysia. Despite leaving this year’s recently completed World Aquatics Championships held in Hungary empty-handed, Anh Vien is still considered a top contender in Southeast Asia. During the upcoming 2017 SEA Games in Malaysia, the Vietnamese swimming team is anticipating at least 10 gold medals for the country. At the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore, Anh Vien produced an exceptional performance winning eight gold, one silver, and one bronze medal while also breaking eight SEA Games records. At the FINA World Championships in Hungary, the 21-year-old swimmer broke her own personal best by two seconds in her favored 400 meter individual medley, clocking a time of 4:40.39, which placed her in tenth position overall after the qualifying round, just outside a final spot. Her previous record was four minutes and 42.88 seconds, which she set at the 2015 SEA Games. In both the 200- meter and 400- meter categories, Anh Vien streaked ahead of her competition in South East Asia. According to swimming experts, given that the World Aquatics Championships and then the SEA Games take place in two consecutive months, Coach Dang Anh Tuan had to decide which one was more important. Given high expectations, the young swimmer is anticipated to shine in Kuala Lumpur. Regarding the men’s competition, the games are expected to be dominated by Singapore’s Joseph Isaac Schooling. Vietnam’s top male swimmer Hoang Quy Phuoc is expected to lose his top spot in the 200- meter freestyle category. Phuoc took gold at the 2015 SEA Games after finishing in one minute and 48.96 seconds. Le Nguyen Paul, another contender from Vietnam, is not expected to bring home a gold medal given he ranked behind two other competitors from Indonesia and Singapore during the recent world championships. The SEA Games is a biennial sporting …