Gymnast Thà nh lands golden Games hat-trick
Äinh PhÆ°Æ¡ng Thành leapt high and landed perfectly. He was nervous waiting for the result and jumped high to celebrate his highest points in the parallel bars event.
Thành had just overcome the world champion Carlos Yulo of the Philippines to defend his title.
A little far from the competition floor, a small old white-haired woman looked on and aggressively cheered for his victory. 86-year-old Nguyá»…n Thị Anh ThÆ° is Thành's grandmother. It was the first time she had an opportunity to watch and encourage her grandson to compete in person.
She not only saw Thành winning once but twice on May 16.
A few minutes after the event, the Tokyo Olympian shared top place with Yulo in the horizontal bar event after an amazing performance from both competitors.
"I am happy when my family comes and supports me. Since I have practised gymnastics, it is the first time grandmother could come and watch me in an international competition," Thành said.
"Her presence was a big push for me. It is great to know that a big family is backing me. And I believe that I have made her happy too."
Successful athlete
Thành has lived far from his family since he was 7 years old back in 2002. He was one of the talented athletes picked to be trained in China to be one of Việt Nam's key gymnasts.
After eight years in China, 15-year-old Thành returned home and began his professional athlete life.
He gained a bronze medal from the Asian Games in South Korea in 2014; four golds from the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore; two each from the 2017 Games in Malaysia and 2019 Games in the Philippines.
He was also one of two gymnasts representing Việt Nam at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Read More…
