Man of record
In 2023, Nguyen Van Lai confirmed that participating in the National Athletics Championship (at that time) would be the last time he competed in his favorite events of 5,000m and 10,000m taking place on the field. "I have my own plans and when I get older, I need to give way for the younger guys behind me to continue developing. I will switch to longer events than marathons competing on the field...", Nguyen Van Lai told the media at that time.
In that last time, on the athletics field at Mieu Mon Training Center (Hanoi) of the 2023 National Athletics Championship, Nguyen Van Lai still won a double Gold Medal in the 5,000m and 10,000m events.
Looking back on his journey of high performance, Nguyen Van Lai has marked 13 times as the National Champion in the 5,000m event. Not to mention, the runner of the Army Sports still holds the record for the 5,000m and 10,000m events for men in Vietnamese athletics. Lai once shared that he kept for himself a memorable memory of breaking the record twice in the 10,000m event. This was the occasion when the young man Nguyen Van Lai participated in the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar and came first, winning the Gold Medal in the 10,000m event with a time of 29 minutes 44 seconds 82. The result was recognized as a national record for the event.
Nine years later, at the 9th National Sports Festival in 2022, Nguyen Van Lai continued to break the record and won the 10,000m Gold Medal. Nguyen Van Lai's time of 30 minutes 36 seconds 86 in the event was recognized as a new record at the National Sports Festival. "I am very touched by this record because it surpassed the old record that existed 20 years ago of former athlete Nguyen Chi Dong, which was 30 minutes 46 seconds 21. I didn't think I could do it, but when I got the record, I felt that my efforts always achieved important meaning," Nguyen Van Lai shared.
Nguyen Van Lai started participating in the SEA Games in 2011. From then until 2022, this runner has always won medals, mostly Gold Medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m events. Nguyen Van Lai has conquered many competitions in the country, Southeast Asia, and Asia. But Lai affirmed that his will is always the strongest every time he participates in the SEA Games. The 31st SEA Games (May 2022) is the final chapter in Nguyen Van Lai's glorious career in the Vietnam Athletics Team and he won a double Gold Medal on home soil.
The army gave me a strong will.
This year, Nguyen Van Lai is 38 years old and holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel of the Military Sports and Physical Training Center (Ministry of National Defense). Lai has answered many questions from the media about his growth from a student to a soldier in the army, and a Vietnamese track and field athlete. Nguyen Van Lai's family is not a traditional sports family. However, Nguyen Van Lai is a person who likes to run.
“I came to athletics late because I only started practicing professional athletics when I was 21 or 22 years old. However, I was luckier than other athletes of the same age because before practicing sports, I joined the army and was trained in a military environment to have self-discipline,” Nguyen Van Lai shared.
The young man from Nga Son (Thanh Hoa) shared that he loved running when he was still in school and in 2004, he participated in a tournament in his hometown Thanh Hoa for the first time and won second prize. Since then, Nguyen Van Lai has been more conscious of preparing professionally and practicing athletics.
“The military environment has helped me have a strong will. An athlete in the medium-long event on the field always has to practice running at least 40 laps per session. In the weekly physical training program, there are many sessions where I have to run more than 30km. Of course, to do well, you have to prepare and have accumulation as well as passion for athletics. I am lucky that I have a passion for athletics,” Nguyen Van Lai expressed.
When asked if Lai regrets leaving the indoor track to compete in the marathon, Nguyen Van Lai frankly said he never regretted it. Running a marathon has more challenges that help him conquer the peak better.
In conversations with the writer, Nguyen Van Lai once confided that the person who most influenced him to decide to join the army was his father. This runner's father was a soldier, so he instilled in Nguyen Van Lai the spirit and determination to follow his career when he grew up. Now, Nguyen Van Lai is no longer in the Vietnam Athletics Team. However, when going to the training place of the Army Athletics Team, people still always see the familiar figure of this runner when practicing professionally. Nguyen Van Lai's competition results, experience through tournaments and personal experiences have gathered the conditions for the manager to gradually guide this runner into coaching work.
Meeting Nguyen Van Lai again in a specialized marathon coach training class held at the National Sports Training Center in Hanoi at the end of November 2024, this veteran smiled and said that he was trying to accumulate to do professional work in the future, but he certainly still had energy so he had not stopped running on the road to compete in the tournament.
Marathon brings new feeling
“I will start competing in marathons with a distance of 42km on the road from 2023. This is a new challenge. But once you conquer it, you will always feel a sense of refreshment,” Nguyen Van Lai shared.
That's why, when people call Nguyen Van Lai "marathon" Lai, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Lai does not shake his head but finds it interesting for himself. In April 2023, Nguyen Van Lai won first place at the International Marathon held in Thua Thien Hue with a time of 2 hours 31 minutes 29 seconds. The professional result is not the best parameter that Lai can achieve.
However, the former national athlete expressed that it was a memorable tournament because it was the first time he won the 42km distance in an official tournament. Since then, Nguyen Van Lai has appeared more in amateur marathons and the National Marathon Championship since then. In March 2024, Nguyen Van Lai finished second in the 42km marathon distance at the 2024 Tien Phong National Marathon Championship.
In early December, Nguyen Van Lai continued to finish second in the marathon distance - 42km when competing in the Viettel Marathon 2024 Hanoi leg. At the finish line in My Dinh National Stadium of the tournament, Lai was a bit sad because he tried hard to chase his junior Hoang Nguyen Thanh but could not catch up to win first place. In the final result, Lai was only 3 seconds behind Nguyen Thanh, so he accepted the runner-up position.
When this article was published, Nguyen Van Lai was on his way to Cambodia to continue conquering the Viettel Marathon 2024 Angkor Wat stage. This is the last marathon in 2024 that Nguyen Van Lai will participate in. Most importantly, the competition will be held on December 22 and Nguyen Van Lai aims to successfully conquer the 42km race. If he wins first place, Lai will be even more proud because it is a meaningful gift to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam People's Army (December 22, 1944 - December 22, 2024) and the 35th anniversary of the National Defense Day (December 22, 1989 - December 22, 2024).
