Nguyen Thi Huyen decided to retire at the age of 30, after creating a miracle for Vietnamese sports with 13 gold medals at the SEA Games, 10 gold medals at the national championship and 3 gold medals at the Asian Games.
Dan Tri reporter had a conversation with the female athlete considered a legend in the women's 400m hurdles at her small house in Nam Dinh city.
Start exercising again when your baby is only 3 months old.
Why did Huyen decide to retire at the age of 30?
- I decided to retire for two main reasons. One is that at this point, I am no longer young and cannot complete the training program as required by the coach. The 400m race requires a lot of physical strength, but now I often get shocked, even vomit when trying to complete the training program.
Nguyen Thi Huyen shared with Dan Tri about the difficulties in her career as a top athlete (Photo: Manh Quan).
Secondly, I have been married for 6 years and had a child for 5 years, which is a period of time when I was often away from my family. When my child was only 3 months old, I weaned him and started training again.
Every mother always wants to be with her children, take care of her family, and the people she loves, but I have had to sacrifice a lot. So I think this is the right time to retire.
Huyen's decision to retire at this time is regretted by many people, because she is the Vietnamese athlete who has won the most gold medals at the SEA Games in the history of the tournament. Experts believe that Huyen is still capable of competing for a medal at the 2025 SEA Games, so why doesn't Huyen try for one more SEA Games before retiring?
- People think like that, but two years is a very long time and I have entered my 30s. At this age, physical strength and health will decline very quickly over time. Like at the recent 32nd SEA Games, my health at the beginning of the year and the end of the year were very different.
If I were young, the more I exercised, the better my health would be, but as I get older, my health declines very quickly. I know that it is very difficult to ensure achievements and win medals at this age, so it is better to stop.
Nguyen Thi Huyen won a total of 13 gold medals for Vietnamese athletics at the SEA Games (Photo: Manh Quan).
At the time Huyen got married and had a baby, many people thought that Huyen would retire from her top-level playing career. However, Huyen still returned and shone in regional and continental competitions. At that time, did Huyen think she could succeed as a mother of one?
- It is true that I myself did not think I would return to compete at the highest level. Almost all Vietnamese athletes, when they get married and have children, especially in athletics, almost all quit. From the past until now, it seems that only Vu Bich Huong, an athlete in the 100m hurdles, can return, but most do not.
I also thought I didn’t have enough strength to come back. But in December 2018, 3 months after giving birth, when I saw the young athletes competing, I felt hungry and thirsty to compete like them, so I was determined to come back.
At that time, I didn't think I could continue to achieve so many achievements, especially winning the 30th SEA Games gold medal just over a year after having a baby.
When I first returned, I only hoped to win a spot in the women's 4x400m hurdles relay team, because at that time there were very strong female athletes like Nguyen Thi Hang and Quach Thi Lan. But fortunately, during training and competition, I achieved good results to participate in individual events at the SEA Games held in the Philippines in 2019.
Nguyen Thi Huyen affirmed that her family is the support for her to achieve many successes (Photo: Hai Long).
During my training, I always set myself clear goals. But things were not easy, because if young athletes without families tried once, I had to try two or three times harder. There were many times when I felt very tired, had injuries that made me want to give up, but somehow I overcame them.
There were days when the pain was so bad that I had to soak my feet in a bucket of ice, crying as I did so. My mother-in-law felt sorry for me and told me to stop competing, but I still told myself to try my best and never give up because of my passion.
So how does Huyen balance between competing and taking care of her small family?
- Personally, I feel very lucky to have a family who supports me, always understands and encourages me to pursue my career. My family always sympathizes and supports me. My mother-in-law is very good and loves her daughter-in-law.
I am even luckier because my husband was also an athlete, and competed at a high level, so he is very understanding, supportive, and supportive of me. He not only helps me take care of our children, but also constantly encourages me and is my spiritual support anytime, anywhere to pursue my career.
Having gone through many hardships in 15 years of competing at the top level on the track, has Huyen ever wanted her daughter to follow in her footsteps?
- I really want to. Many people think that the sports path is very difficult, I know that too, but it is a choice that I do not regret. I was born into a very poor family, but sports helped me change and have a better life like today. If my daughter also has the passion and can continue, I will always support her wholeheartedly.
Couldn't hold back the tears on retirement day
During 15 years of competing at the top level, when did Huyen find it most difficult and how did she overcome it?
- That was 2016, a time when I suffered a lot of injuries. Before that, I had a great success in 2015 when I won 3 SEA Games gold medals, broke 2 SEA Games records and reached the Olympic standard to be present at the 2016 Rio Olympics held in Brazil.
However, the continuous injuries in 2016 made me not have good form, was eliminated right from the qualifying round and far behind the achievements I had made at the previous SEA Games. I also had conflicts and disagreements with the coach and everyone at that time thought that my performance had declined and I could no longer regain my form.
But I kept trying, training hard and my relationship with the coach became better than before. Right after that, I won 2 Asian gold medals in 2017, won 3 SEA Games gold medals and broke a SEA Games record. That was great.
Experts have commented that Huyen has done extraordinary things in athletics, unprecedented in Vietnam and rare in the world. What do you think about this praise from everyone?
- That is because everyone has shown me too much affection. I consider that as encouragement for myself. As an athlete, when wearing the national flag on the international arena, I always try my best.
Nguyen Thi Huyen always tries to overcome herself in the most difficult times (Photo: Manh Quan).
After the 2023 National Athletics Championship ended on October 28, everyone saw Huyen burst into tears. Can Huyen share about her feelings at that time?
- At that moment, so many emotions burst out that I couldn't hold back. Although I had clearly determined that I would retire after the tournament ended, the emotions came so suddenly.
How many successes I have had, how many difficulties I have experienced, especially having to say goodbye to Coach Vu Ngoc Loi, the teacher I respect, consider him as my father, so I just cried. Too many memories plus the teacher hugging me and crying made my emotions overflow.
Coach Vu Ngoc Loi is sometimes more like a father to me, because he is the one who takes care of my every meal and sleep, and takes care of me when I am sick during 15 years of competing at the top level. Whenever I have problems in life, I often confide in him, listen to his advice and encouragement. So when he hugged me at the end of the track, I was very touched.
Nguyen Thi Huyen believes that Vietnamese athletics will have many promising athletes in the future (Photo: Tien Tuan).
After 15 years of competing at the top level with countless achievements, what can Huyen say to the young athletes who will succeed her in the future?
- I just want to share that you should always try your best, because in the process of pursuing your passion, you will encounter many problems such as injuries, fatigue, pressure that make you feel discouraged, even give up. But if you have more will, more effort, more effort, then you will overcome everything to achieve success for yourself.
After retiring, does Huyen intend to become a coach to guide young athletes in the future?
- Absolutely. I hope that what I have done will somehow pass on my experience to young athletes, and find new faces to help Vietnamese sports in general and Vietnamese athletics in particular continue to shine in the regional and continental arenas.
What message can Huyen send to Dan Tri readers in this conversation?
- I just want to say a big thank you to the fans, sports lovers who care about athletes like me. I hope that all fans, especially Dan Tri readers, will always stand by and support Vietnamese sports to continue to reach the international level in the future.
Everyone's encouragement is a great motivation for me to achieve success in my past career.
Thanks Huyen for sharing!
Nguyen Thi Huyen, born in 1993, an athlete from Nam Dinh, is a record holder in Vietnamese athletics. At the SEA Games, Nguyen Thi Huyen holds the record for winning the most gold medals in Southeast Asia with 13 gold medals. She officially retired on October 28, after finishing the 2023 National Athletics Championship.
Nguyen Thi Huyen and Dan Tri reporter (Photo: Manh Quan).
At the 28th SEA Games in 2015, she excellently won a hat-trick of gold medals in the 400m, 400m hurdles, and 4x400m events. At the 29th SEA Games in 2017, she successfully defended her 3 gold medals. Nguyen Thi Huyen also won 2 more gold medals at the 30th SEA Games in 2019, 2 gold medals at the 31st SEA Games in 2022. At the 32nd SEA Games (2023), the last of her career, she shined with 3 gold medals.
In a larger arena, the Asian Championship, "mother of one" Nguyen Thi Huyen also excellently won 3 gold medals, including 2 gold medals in the 400m hurdles, 4x400m relay in 2017 and 1 gold medal in the 4x400m relay in 2023. In addition, Nguyen Thi Huyen also had the honor of competing in the 2016 Brazilian Olympics.
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