Le Tu Chinh is called the speed queen of Southeast Asia by the Malaysian media, after her excellent performance at the 2017 SEA Games. At that time, the Vietnamese athlete won 3 gold medals in her debut in the women's 100m, 200m and 4x100m events. In particular, the gold medal in the women's 4x100m relay that Tu Chinh won with Le Thi Mong Tuyen, Do Thi Quyen, Tran Thi Yen Hoa is still a record of the SEA Games (43 seconds 88).
However, at the 2019 SEA Games, Le Tu Chinh's position was violatingly shaken. The star of Vietnam's athletics lost the 200m gold medal to Kristina Knott of the Philippines, when she only won a silver medal with a score (23 seconds 45), far behind her opponent (23 seconds 01). In the 100m event, Le Tu Chinh won the gold medal but only 0.01 second ahead of her opponent (11 seconds 54 compared to Knott's 11 seconds 55).
At the 31st SEA Games, Southeast Asian fans hope to see Le Tu Chinh compete fairly with Kristiana knoff in the 100m and 200m events. However, Le Tu Chinh could not participate due to a hamstring injury. That means Kristina Knott is on the cards to win 2 individual gold medals in the 100m and 200m events, not to mention the 4x100m relay event.
Since the 2019 SEA Games, Kristina Knott has maintained her very high performance, regularly competing in major international tournaments such as the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 World indoor Athletics Championship. In 2020, knoff broke Ly Lyde De Vega's national record for the 100m race, when he reached 11 seconds 27, set in the US.
Meanwhile, Le Tu Chinh's most recent statistic in this event was 11 seconds 66, set at the 2021 national championship. In the 200m event, Knott achieved a time of 23 seconds and 45 set in early 2022, in a local tournament. With Tu Chinh, she won the national gold medal in 2021 in the 200m distance after 23 seconds 69.
Obviously, even if not injured, it will be very difficult for Le Tu Chinh to compete with Kristina Knott, who has been practicing and competing in the US recently. The Philippine Athletics Federation (PAFATA) also considers knott as one of the key athletes to compete for the top spot in the women's doubles at the 31st SEA Games.
According to the plan, the Philippine athletics team will participate in 39/46 events of athletics at the 31st SEA Games. They strive to improve their performance after finishing 3rd in the 30th SEA Games with 11 gold medals, 8 silver medals and 8 bronze incense. PAFATA is very confident in completing the set goals because they emphasized that they have sent an "all-star" squad to Hanoi.
"I am proud to call Kristina a teammate and friend and I want to thank her for what she has done for the Philippines, making fans proud. At the 31st SEA Games, Kristina will participate in the competition and I am sure she will win gold medals in Hanoi," said sports dancer Ernest Obiena.
