Pham Thanh Bao brought home the gold medal for Vietnamese swimming in the men's 200m frog swimming event at the 33rd SEA Games with a time of 2 minutes 12 seconds 81. The swimmer born in 2001 took a special action when raising the T sign to send words of encouragement to his girlfriend Vo Thi My Tien.
Before that, Vo Thi My Tien competed in the women's individual 400m event and won a silver medal. However, right after the award ceremony, the female swimmer born in 2005 could not hide her emotions and burst into tears. According to research, My Tien is under great pressure from expectations of achievements, when she is considered the top hope of Vietnamese women's swimming at the 33rd SEA Games, in the context that the team has not won another individual gold medal for women since Anh Vien retired.
In addition to professional pressure, My Tien also has psychological difficulties when competing continuously in events that require physical strength and high concentration. Not achieving the set goals makes young athletes feel regretful, even though the silver medal result is still a remarkable achievement in the regional arena.
Immediately after the incident, the leaders of the Vietnamese sports delegation had an interview with the Association of Water Sports to learn from experience in accompanying and supporting athletes, especially the spiritual factor during and after the competition. The agreed viewpoint is to create a positive environment, reducing unnecessary pressure on young athletes.
In that context, Pham Thanh Bao's encouraging action was considered a timely sharing, adding spirit to Vo Thi My Tien. This is also a positive message about solidarity and companionship between the athletes of the Vietnam national team at the 33rd SEA Games.
