SEA Games  

BANGKOK — Runner Nguyễn Thị Oanh and Việt Nam’s 4x400m relay team once again proved their dominance, repeating their victories at the 33rd SEA Games on December 13 in Bangkok, Thailand.

In the women’s 5,000m event, the defending champion Oanh faced little resistance from eight other competitors, finishing first with a time of 16 minutes 27.14 seconds.

True to her reputation as a multi-time champion, Oanh surged to the front from the very start. This time, she was closely shadowed by her young teammate Lê Thị Tuyết, who helped underline Việt Nam’s supremacy in long-distance running.

Together, the Vietnamese duo steadily widened the gap with the rest of the field, leaving no doubt about their nation’s absolute power in women’s distance events.

Tuyết rotated Oanh to take lead when it was about two third of the race but her senior quickly caught up with her and sprinted to the finish line first, earning her fifth 5,000m and the 13th SEA Games title in career.

Tuyết came seconds later while Joida Gagnao of the Philippines was at third.

“Every runner has her own target, and so do I. I always try my best to achieve mine. During the race, I hear the loud cheers from the crowd, and that support pushes me to run even better. I hope to perform at my best in the upcoming events,” said Nguyễn Thị Oanh, who will defend her titles in the 10,000m and 3,000m steeplechase in the coming days.

Later in the evening, the quartet of Tạ Ngọc Tưởng, Nguyễn Thị Ngọc, Lê Ngọc Phúc, and Nguyễn Thị Hằng captured the final medal of the day in the 4x400m mixed relay.

They clocked 3:15.07, setting a new tournament record and leaving Thailand and the Philippines well behind.

The team, a blend of two seasoned veterans and two promising newcomers, successfully defended their title and reaffirmed Việt Nam’s position as the strongest relay squad in the region.

"Although it is my first SEA Games and there is a little pressure prior to the race I know I can and have to run well to support the later runners in the team," said Tưởng who took charge of the first leg.

"I am really happy because I beat Thai rival who defeated me yesterday. It is really excited."

 

Ngọc, who was the second leg runner, said: "I just take the baton and run as fast as possible, no matter how the other do. It is not my first SEA Games but first time relay. I am strongly encouraged by seniors and confident to do my job."

Earlier, Vietnamese martial arts teams continued their strong performance with karate and taekwondo leading the charge through multiple gold medals.

The karate squad dominated, securing three golds. Hoàng Thị Mỹ Tâm captured the women's 61kg title, trouncing Maneewan Butsuwan of the hosts 11-2.

She was followed by Đinh Thị Hương defending her women's 68kg crown with an 8-5 win over Indonesian Zefanya Ceyco Georgia.

Nguyễn Thanh Trường added to the haul in the men's 84kg category, beating Arif Fadhillah of Indonesia 4-1 while Võ Văn Hiên took a silver in the men's 75kg after losing 3-9 to Indonesian Ignatius Joshua Kandou.

In taekwondo, Trần Thị Ánh Tuyết starred by claiming a gold in the women's 53-57kg sparring, edging the host Thailand's fighter 2-1 across three tightly contested rounds.

Nguyễn Thị Loan earned a silver in the women's 49-53kg category, and Lý Hồng Phúc took a silver in the men's 74kg after his final against an Indonesian rival.

The ju-jitsu team settled for a silver in the mixed team event, falling to Thailand in the final.

Boxer Đào Đại Hải advanced to the men's 64kg semifinals with a quarterfinal victory over a Thai opponent, securing at least a bronze medal.

Weightlifter Thu Trang claimed a bronze in the women's 48kg category, succeeding on a 98kg opening lift but missing her next two attempts, finishing with a total of 181kg.

Meanwhile, the women's table tennis team suffered a 1-3 defeat to Thailand in the team event.

After four days of competition, Thailand are too strong with the rest, earning 94 gold medals.

Indonesia replace Việt Nam in the second position with 31 victories. Việt Nam are third with 30 titles. VNS