Sailing efforts to reach new heights

Thanh Hoa rowing athletes practice hard at Song Muc Lake (Ben En National Park).

Thanh Hoa rowing was established in 2002 and has undergone many changes in both its strength and performance. Before 2015, Thanh Hoa rowing stood out with the athlete duo Nguyen Dinh Huy - Nguyen Dinh Hoang, who won many medals at national competitions, national sports festivals and international arenas. After 2015, there was a period when this sport lacked outstanding players, and its performance at domestic arenas declined. After the 9th Sports Festival in 2022 ended with the greatest success being Luc Van Thuc's single sculls gold medal, the rowing sport began to enter a generational transition phase, rebuilding its strength from the beginning.

“The coaching staff determined that in order to go the long way, they cannot depend on veteran athletes forever, so they pay great attention to training the next generation, making plans for each stage and each specific tournament. How can the sport continue to maintain its position in domestic arenas, while at the same time creating a generation of elite athletes who can break through in the region and internationally,” said Nguyen Trong Dung, head of the rowing department.

However, the biggest difficulty for rowing is finding and discovering talented athletes. According to Head of the Department Nguyen Trong Dung, the reason is because the competition equipment is very special, expensive, and training is difficult. Therefore, localities do not have a movement, and families are hesitant to let their children practice this sport. Besides, rowing is a cycle sport, requiring very hard muscle strength. Moreover, the training environment for rowing is outdoors, rain, wind, hot sun, and cold.

With the attention of the sports industry and the efforts of the coaching staff, the rowing department (including canoeing and rowing) has overcome difficulties and gradually built a class of elite athletes. Currently, the department has 32 athletes and 2 coaches, including 11 provincial athletes, 10 youth athletes and 11 gifted athletes. Maintaining the 3 athlete groups well promises to help the department build a legacy framework to have long-term calculations for the future.

Since 2015, athletes from all three divisions and the coaching staff have moved their training area from Sam Son ward to Ben En National Park. Training at Song Muc - Ben En lake is much more convenient than before.

Visiting the training session of rowing athletes at Ben En National Park, we can see the determination and efforts of the teachers and students of the sport. Regardless of hot or cold weather, the coaching staff and team members have constantly strived to overcome difficulties and challenges, practicing day and night with underwater exercises and physical training with land exercises. In addition, there is a lack of equipment and training and competition tools when the whole team only has 5 boats that meet standards and quality, and the oars are not really suitable for the athletes' physique.

Despite facing many challenges, coaches and rowing athletes always strive to practice and compete with determination towards new goals, hoping to create unexpected achievements in national and international tournaments. Rowing in recent years has always been in the top 7 and 8 nationwide. In 2023, at the National Youth Rowing and Canoeing Championship, athletes won 3 gold medals, 3 silver medals, 2 bronze medals; won 2 gold medals, 1 silver medal, 3 bronze medals at the National Rowing and Canoeing Championship. In 2024, they won 1 gold medal, 3 silver medals, 1 bronze medal at the National Youth Rowing and Canoeing Championship; won 3 gold medals, 1 silver medal at the U19, U23 Youth Rowing and Canoeing Championship and the Southeast Asian Championship. In 2025, Thanh Hoa rowing continued to make its mark by winning 3 gold medals, 1 silver medal and 4 bronze medals at the National Youth Rowing and Canoeing Championship. Thereby affirming the right direction in athlete selection and training.

In terms of strength, rowing is considered to have a good generation of mature athletes. Thanh Hoa rowing has contributed 4 young, bright faces to the national team: Luc Van Thuc, Luc Anh Thu, Vi Tuan Khanh and Le Thi Yen Chi. Besides these 4 leading athletes, the team also has young faces who have affirmed themselves with many medals at domestic tournaments such as: Nguyen Van Bac, Lu Nhat Long, Quach Nhat Tan...

Nguyen Ngoc Hai, Head of the Training Management Department, Provincial Sports Training and Competition Center, acknowledged that Thanh Hoa rowing has achieved many proud successes in recent years. These successes demonstrate the province's attention and investment as well as the constant efforts of athletes and coaches. "The rowing team has made many innovations in the direction of deep specialization; the training system is divided into three training routes. On all three routes, athletes are trained and educated systematically, and are carefully screened before being selected to compete in the national championship system. In addition, the team always focuses on improving input quality, periodically conducting professional tests, regularly reviewing and classifying athletes. To create conditions for rowing to develop further, in the coming time, the center will pay attention to creating conditions for athletes to train and compete in tournaments to have the opportunity to exchange, rub shoulders, and gain experience regularly," said Mr. Hai.

Article and photos: Anh Tuan

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/dua-thuyen-no-luc-vuon-tam-260689.htm