Nguyen Thi Huyen is considered one of the icons of Vietnamese women's athletics over the past decade. Her career can be summed up in two words: "record".
Nguyen Thi Huyen's forte is the 400m with the events of 400m, 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay. In the domestic arena, the runner born in 1993 has 10 gold medals at the national championship.
Meanwhile, in the international arena, the former runner from Nam Dinh holds the record for being the Vietnamese athlete who has won the most gold medals with 13. Nguyen Thi Huyen also won 3 gold medals at the Asian Championships, participated in the ASIAD and participated in the 2016 Olympics.
During her professional career, Nguyen Thi Huyen often had to compete away from home and train at high intensity in harsh weather. This affected her skin and figure. Her face was dotted with freckles.
There were even days when the training was so painful that the "Queen of Track and Field" had to soak her feet in a bucket of ice, crying as she did so. Although her mother-in-law felt sorry for her and suggested that she quit competing, she did not give up because of her passion.
It was not until the end of 2023, after the end of the national athletics championship, that Nguyen Thi Huyen announced her retirement. The reason she gave was that her physical strength and health had declined rapidly over time. Many times the female athlete suffered shock or vomited due to overtraining.
Besides, the runner from Nam Dinh also wants to spend time for herself and her small family, while pursuing a career as a coach.
Since then, Nguyen Thi Huyen has had more time for her family. The former track and field athlete and her husband also welcomed the joy of her second pregnancy. Nguyen Thi Huyen successfully gave birth to a new member of the family not long ago.
Speaking to Lao Dong on January 14, the Vietnamese "athletics queen" said: "After retiring, I have more time to take care of my family. My husband and I are also carefully preparing to welcome our second baby. Because we have experience giving birth to our first child, my husband and I have taken better care of both mother and baby from the time of pregnancy until the baby is born.
Before, after giving birth to my first daughter for 3 months, I went back to training and competing. Therefore, we did not have much time together. With my second daughter, I was with her all the time, so I understood her better. Whenever she cried, I could know the reason. Luckily, the baby was also obedient because of that.
My first child has also started to grow up, knows how to help her mother and loves her younger sister. I feel very happy with my current life as a mother."
During her pregnancy and after giving birth, Nguyen Thi Huyen regularly updated her status, sharing about her daily activities and life around her. She also said that her husband loved her and did not need to do much work.
"The number of times I wash dishes and sweep the house can be counted on one hand. My husband works close to home so he always spends a lot of time with his wife and children. He says he just needs me to be healthy and take good care of the children. I am very grateful and feel lucky to have a partner like him," Nguyen Thi Huyen confided.
She received many compliments when fans said that the "athletics queen" became more beautiful after retiring. She always radiated in every picture with short black hair and rosy white skin.
For Nguyen Thi Huyen, family is her number one support in her career journey. At the age of 32, the legend of Vietnamese athletics is still taking care of her young child and is ready to return to her job as a coach.
"Because my house is near the training center and stadium, every afternoon when I have time, I take the opportunity to run out to see how my students are practicing. I believe that there is no need to wait until the full month of confinement before returning.
Now I no longer have to compete for achievements but do coaching work. I still take care of my children and monitor and guide the children. My husband and I live in Nam Dinh, near my workplace, so I am always ready for work at any time," Nguyen Thi Huyen expressed.
