I used the SEA Games medal bonus to pay off my parents' debt.

Perhaps many sports fans still cannot forget the image of athlete Pham Thi Hong Le fainting and having to be rushed to the emergency room and given oxygen after finishing the 42km marathon at the 30th SEA Games in the Philippines.

At the recent 32nd SEA Games, the little girl once again won 2 silver medals in the 5,000 and 10,000m events, just behind senior athlete Nguyen Thi Oanh.

To get those medals, Hong Le had to go through many harsh challenges on the track.

After participating in the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia, Hong Le returned to the welcoming arms of her parents and teammates at Phu Cat airport (Binh Dinh).

Try to win medals to have money to help parents

Hong Le (born 1998) was born into a farming family in the martial arts land of Binh Dinh. Due to difficult circumstances, her parents and siblings all worked as hired laborers, doing all kinds of jobs to make a living. As the 5th daughter in a family of 6 children, only Hong Le followed the path of professional sports.

As a secondary school student, Le won a prize in a running competition at school. She was sent to participate in district and provincial competitions. The outstanding achievements of this small girl caught the attention of teachers at the Binh Dinh Province Sports Training and Competition Center.

“ At that time, my parents did not agree to let me pursue a professional sports career. The family's economy was very difficult, my parents and siblings all had to work. Therefore, my parents wanted me to stay home to take care of my elderly grandmother ,” Hong Le recalled.

But with all her passion for sports and the desire to help her family escape poverty, Hong Le convinced her parents. The 15-year-old female student packed her bags and went to Quy Nhon to study high school and participate in athletics training with her teachers.

Nguyen Thi Oanh and Pham Hong Le won the first two positions in the 10,000m race.

After 11 years of athletics, Hong Le has won 1 gold medal, 4 silver medals and 2 bronze medals at the SEA Games. In addition, she holds the record for the women's 10,000m race with a time of 34'01"59 at the 2021 National Athletics Championship, along with many achievements at domestic competitions.

Having won many medals, the "steel rose" of Vietnamese athletics used her prize money to help her parents pay off their debts. As soon as she received her first bronze medal at the 29th SEA Games in 2017, she pooled her savings together with her parents' to help build a solid house in her hometown of Binh Dinh.

Since then, every year, the little girl tries to achieve the highest results to bring money home to help her parents pay off their debt.

Le is very frugal in spending, saving every penny of allowance. “ Apart from the things for training and competition, I limit shopping and eating out. If I spend 200,000 VND on eating out, my parents will eat at home for 5 days. So before spending, I always consider whether it is necessary or not ,” Le confided.

“ I used the bonus from the gold medal at SEA Games 31 to pay off the last debt to my parents ,” Hong Le recounted.

Hong Le's boyfriend commented: "On the race track, she is cold, persistent and very brave. In real life, Hong Le is very feminine and sentimental."

Clean up the money to treat injuries

The petite 1m52 tall girl confided: “ I just hope to avoid injury so I can train and compete to the best of my ability. I am a very progressive person. I am never satisfied with my achievements and always want to achieve higher achievements ."

On the race track, Hong Le thought about the months of hard training, her family, and her coach to try to reach the finish line as quickly as possible. But the 9X girl was unlucky to have a long and continuous injury, and she also suffered from iliotibial band enthesitis syndrome.

“ I have spent a lot of money to treat this chronic disease. That amount is certainly more than the silver medal prize I will receive. I am very frugal, but to take care of my health and help me train, I am willing to spend money ,” Le said.

Hong Le and Minh Hong, 2 people met each other when attending the National Sports Festival in 2018.

SEA Games 32 has ended, Hong Le returned to the welcoming arms of the coaches in Binh Dinh and continued training. Up to this point, Le still does not know the total bonus for her recent achievement.

Nguyen Minh Hong (born 1997, Nam Dinh ) - Hong Le's boyfriend, also a former professional athlete, said: " She just won 2 silver medals at the 32nd SEA Games. Maybe with more than 700 athletes participating, she is not outstanding. People only pay attention to the gold medals. But to me, she has tried and made constant efforts despite her long-term injuries. After all, she fought with all her might for the country's flag. Although Le did not stand on the highest podium, I am always proud of her ."

Photo: Character provided

(Source: Vietnamnet)

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Source: https://vtc.vn/pham-thi-hong-le-tien-thuong-huy-chuong-sea-games-toi-de-tra-no-cho-bo-me-ar784243.html