Phan Trien Lac was born in 2004 in Wenzhou (Zhejiang, China) - known as the swimming capital of this country. At the age of 7, he showed his natural talent for swimming and was selected for the city's sports team.

Participating in the 2014 Provincial Sports Festival, Trien Lac won 7 gold medals in swimming events: 50m, 100m, 400m freestyle, 200m medley and 3 relay categories. Notably, in each race, Trien Lac left his opponents far behind. In September 2023, the young swimmer of the Chinese team continued to break the record at the Asian Games with the men's 100m freestyle.

Despite his good achievements at home and abroad, Trien Lac was not known to many people. It was not until February 2024, when he was officially named in the national team for the 2024 Olympics, that Trien Lac received attention.

On August 1, Trien Lac won the gold medal in the men's 100m freestyle with a time of 46.40 seconds - breaking the world record. This is one of the important steps marking the achievements of Chinese swimmers at the Olympic arena.

Returning from his victory at the 2024 Olympics, on August 11, Zhan Le participated in an interview with CCTV:

- Perhaps your life has changed after the victory in Paris (France)?

I feel the change clearly, now it is difficult to go out alone. When I was on my way to the interview, there were many people waiting for my autograph at the hotel. I am still not used to it because when I was young, no one looked for me, but when I became famous, many people cared about me. I wish to return to a peaceful life. It is better that this time the result is not good so that I can focus on training now.

- Does this make you happy?

No, I still think I'm not as good as people think. This is the result of constant practice.

- In the men's 4x100m medley relay, the Chinese team was 0.75s slower than their opponents. As the last member, what pressure did you face?

Actually, I don't care about my opponents. I just watch my teammates swim.

- What is the difference between chasing an opponent (mixed relay) and individual swimming (men's 100m freestyle)?

For me, swimming pursuit is easy to develop my ability. When practicing, I often ask my teammates to start 1 to 2 seconds ahead. This method helps me improve quickly. In general, their technique is good but my speed is better.

- When you are swimming, do you watch your opponents?

I just observed the last 25m of the men's 100m freestyle. This is the time when opponents easily give up, just keep trying and you will win. Compared to them, I have the advantage of age, including physical strength and breathing. Most people speed up the first 75m, then run out of energy by the end. However, this stage is important, whoever perseveres will finish early.

development
Athlete Phan Trien Lac set a record of 46s40 in the men's 100m freestyle at the 2024 Olympics.

- Participating in the qualifying round, what do you feel about your opponent?

This is the round where the athletes do not give their all. That day, swimming next to me was Kyle Chalmers (Australian team) - the gold medalist in the men's 100m freestyle at the 2016 Rio Olympics with a time of 47s08, so I planned to finish the competition within this time. However, due to my composure, I almost had to leave the qualifying round.

- Almost left the qualifying round to reach the final, are you highly appreciated?

I don't care what people think. France is the host country of the 2024 Olympics, most of the audience cheers for the national team, but I think they are cheering for me.

My breathing is on the left side, so I can only see that my opponents in lanes 5, 6, 7 and 8 are swimming slower than me, but I don't know the situation in lanes 1, 2 and 3. At this point, I focus on swimming fast to reach the finish line. If I try but don't win, I think it's because my ability is poor and I need to practice more.

- Are you upset when the results are questionable (positive for Trimetazidine - a banned substance for athletes participating in sports)?

I believe that sports is about breaking old records and creating new achievements. Although I am angry, I am innocent so I am not afraid. To refute, the first thing I do is to complete my task well and prove it with my achievements.

- Australian coach Brett Hawke said your victory "could not have been achieved by human strength", what do you think?

In saying so, Mr. Brett Hawke is setting his own prejudice. Whereas prejudice is man-made and self-imposed, it is best to ignore it.

- Are you afraid of breaking the record?

No, because I broke the records others set. Therefore, someone will definitely replace me in the future. What I can do during my peak time is to maintain the title for the longest time.

- The Chinese have a saying: "It's easy to conquer a country but difficult to keep it." If someone else achieved this record, how would you feel?

No one is happy when faced with this. I still congratulate the person who broke my record. There must be someone who opens the way for other athletes to overcome their own limits. With my current achievements, I need to try harder in the future.

- Do you ever get discouraged?

No, because my goal is to become the world's top athlete. If I give up, it means my opponent has won. In my journey forward, I consider both encouragement and criticism as motivation. They say I can't do it, I have to work harder to prove them wrong.

- How does your training day go?

Normally, I swim about 15,000m a day, 7,000m in the morning and more in the afternoon. To increase my swimming speed, I have to practice regularly. If I don't practice for a day, I will fall behind.

- What is the difference between training with and without technology support?

Without science and technology, athletes will find it difficult to recognize where their success comes from. On the contrary, with support, they will know which skills need to be improved at each stage.

- After the breakthrough at the 2024 Olympics, what are your future plans?

I haven't thought about it yet, but I'm still training. However, being in the prime of my career (for athletes aged 22 to 24), I also have high expectations.

In addition to the above achievement, Trien Lac and his teammates also won a gold medal in the men's 4x100m medley relay. Previously, this event was held by the US team for 40 years.

Three Mathematical problems by Vietnamese authors were selected for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). Among them, the problem by the late Associate Professor Van Nhu Cuong was considered the most difficult and interesting.