Confidence to conquer the track
Le Tu Chinh officially left Ho Chi Minh City and joined Ca Mau to participate in the 2024 National Athletics Championship. Thus, after much anticipation, fans will see the girl who used to be the fastest runner of Vietnam Athletics return to the professional track. In 2022 and 2023, Tu Chinh was absent from the national championship for various reasons, but now, the one-time golden girl of Vietnam Women's Athletics in the speed event maintains the highest determination. Tu Chinh's top goal is to conquer professional results at the 2024 National Championship. The tournament is an opportunity for her to reaffirm herself.
Remember two years ago, Tu Chinh was the most expected to win the Gold Medal at the 31st SEA Games at home (May 2022) when she suddenly suffered an injury. The knee injury and ligament-related injuries seemed minor, but Tu Chinh collapsed due to needing surgery. She had to go under the knife on the same day her teammates in the Vietnamese athletics team took the field to compete in the 31st SEA Games. Professionals remember very clearly that after the injury period, many programs to support Tu Chinh were carried out to help her recover and achieve her best performance.
In 2023, Tu Chinh marked her return by participating in the 32nd SEA Games (May 2023) in Cambodia. That was also the period when professionals and managers argued about whether or not to let Tu Chinh compete. In the end, she won the Silver Medal at the 32nd SEA Games with the women's 4x100m relay team of Vietnam Athletics.
“For me, SEA Games 32 is the time when I have just recovered and the results are relatively good. I would like to thank my teammates for supporting me to have such results. Having just returned and competed like this, I am satisfied with my achievements. This is the first tournament I have returned to so I am very comfortable. The feeling of running is indeed gradually getting better, but I consider this a springboard for me to have a stronger comeback.
The team formation strategy was decided by the coach before the match and this was according to the coaching staff's preparation. For me, being able to run at this time in the second relay leg is already satisfying. Currently, my leg has only recovered 70%...", Tu Chinh confided in Cambodia at that time.
That was Tu Chinh's last appearance in official tournaments. After more than a year, this runner is now back in competition and certainly has received considerable attention from fans.
SEA Games 33 opportunities are still promising
By chance, Tu Chinh decided to return to participate in the 2024 National Athletics Championship right after the host Thailand announced the events at the 33rd SEA Games. That is, if she achieves a result in the top group of the 100m and 200m events at the 2024 National Championship, athlete Le Tu Chinh has every chance of returning to the Vietnam Athletics Team.
In early 2024, Tu Chinh decided to resign from Ho Chi Minh City Sports to find a new direction. At that time, many people were surprised because she had good policies and development opportunities in Ho Chi Minh City, but why did she still decide to leave? Tu Chinh has never spoken publicly about her decision to leave. However, she only affirmed one thing: she has never lost her passion for athletics and especially always wants to conquer the next peaks in her career.
The 2017 SEA Games in Malaysia was the most successful time for Le Tu Chinh in both performance and competitive spirit. At the tournament, she won a double Gold Medal in the women's 100m and 200m events. After athlete Vu Thi Huong, Le Tu Chinh is the next Vietnamese female athlete to win both important events in the speed group at the same SEA Games. At the 2019 SEA Games, Le Tu Chinh continued to be the champion of the women's 100m.
At the age of 27, Le Tu Chinh has a lot of professional experience through many tournaments. She used to be a key athlete of Vietnam Athletics and Ho Chi Minh City Athletics. Now, professionals understand that it is difficult to demand that Tu Chinh has the best professional performance like when she was 19 or 20, but she is still not easy to surpass. For more than half a year, Le Tu Trinh has been practicing to prepare herself physically because the time to return is always very important.
SEA Games 33 will be held in December 2025, so Tu Chinh has plenty of time to demonstrate her expertise and find opportunities to participate in this tournament. Most importantly, she has a new management unit, Ca Mau, and is given the best training conditions to have the best expertise.
Tireless legs
When Le Tu Chinh went under the knife to undergo surgery to completely cure her injury (May 2022), many had doubts about her recovery. Previously, many people had retired after surgery or could not achieve their best physical condition after such an incident. Tu Chinh is completely different. The determination of this girl from Ho Chi Minh City is highly appreciated by friends and professionals.
After the injury and surgery, Tu Chinh gradually practiced rehabilitation to regain her feeling on the track. Her right knee had a complex tear of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus, damage to the anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament, lateral tibial plateau cartilage... that was the standard treatment for the injury Tu Chinh encountered. Professionals understand that the large amount of movement on the legs of athletes in short-distance speed events is one of the reasons why such injuries are likely to occur.
Doctors at Military Hospital 175 (Ho Chi Minh City) once shared that Tu Chinh is a girl but her strong will is no different from a man. Especially during the time of physical therapy to recover, Tu Chinh often spends no less than 4 hours/session to persistently practice recovery exercises. The drops of sweat soaked her shirt and the face of this golden girl became thinner, but that only shows that Tu Chinh is truly determined to come back.
The track and field competition at the 32nd SEA Games at Modorok Techo Stadium (Cambodia) was the place that left the most memories for Tu Chinh. Because she was officially able to compete after a long time of injury. At the finish line at that time, all the cameras were focused on Tu Chinh to capture her brightest moments and smiles, but Tu Chinh herself was still cautious, saying that she could not risk her health and that competing was already a success for her.
Tu Chinh's determination and direct results in the 100m event shown at the 2023 Speed Athletics Cup are the premise for the coaching staff of the Vietnam Athletics Team to put her name on the list to compete in the 32nd SEA Games. At this time, Tu Chinh is entering the final days of professional preparation, ready to compete in the 2024 National Championship. The coaching staff of the 100m event of the Vietnam Athletics Team will not ignore her at this year's tournament.
