Bien Van Anh (born in 2006) in Hamlet 2, Ben Quan Town, Vinh Linh District, officially pursued the path of becoming an athlete in athletics when he was just 13 years old. He was an athlete of the Da Nang City Athletics Team, competing in marathons and walking events and achieving many impressive results in tournaments nationwide. With his constant efforts, Van Anh has now been selected to join the Vietnam National Athletics Team to practice walking events, and is a promising young face who promises to bring many high achievements to the country's sports...

Bien Van Anh has spent 5 years training and developing his talent at the Da Nang City Athletics Team - Photo: NVCC

Unexpected turns

“In the fourth grade, during a running test, I caught the eye of my physical education teacher, who then supported me in practicing for the 100m run to participate in the school-level Phu Dong Sports Festival. That was also the first time I discovered that I had a talent for sports. Since childhood, I was a rather shy boy, rarely went out or ran around, only knew how to hoe the land, plant trees to help my parents and had never practiced any sports,” Van Anh began the story.

Entering grade 6, Van Anh surpassed many older brothers and sisters in his secondary school to win a place to attend the Phu Dong Sports Festival at the district and then provincial levels in athletics. After the first competition in the big playground of Quang Tri school sports, although he did not win a medal, the boy returned with the belief that if he practiced seriously, he would achieve higher results. After that, Van Anh actively practiced jogging, spent time learning more about how to train his physical strength to suit this sport and gradually perfected his techniques. In 2019, seeing the progress and ability of his student, teacher Nguyen Dang Linh introduced Van Anh to participate in the selection round for the Da Nang City Athletics Team.

In August 2019, with a 1,000m test result of 3 minutes and 16 seconds, Van Anh was selected, opening a new journey when he was just 13 years old. “After 2 months away from home to Da Nang City to train, I burst into tears of happiness when I held in my hand the admission paper to the Da Nang City Athletics Team. From here, my path to becoming a professional athlete officially began. Although I knew there would be many difficulties when I had to leave my family and friends to go to a new land, at that time I was full of determination and desire to be involved in high-performance sports,” Van Anh shared.

At the Da Nang City Athletics Team, Van Anh won several achievements in the 6km and 10km distances at marathons held in Quang Nam Province and Da Nang City. After that, he continued to practice running longer distances.

However, feeling that he was not suitable for long-distance running and receiving guidance from Mr. Tran Anh Hiep, the athletics coach, Van Anh switched to practicing walking. Walking is a sport in athletics that very few people choose because it is quite difficult and tiring to practice.

Van Anh recounted that when he first started practicing this content, placing the heel, rotating and moving the hips in the right technique was a real challenge for those who were not skillful. Walking in sports has certain rules that require strong ankles, hips and waist to walk at a very fast speed while still ensuring flexibility. There were times after practicing, his hips and waist were so tired that they became stiff, but he still did not give up.

Bien Van Anh (front runner) is currently a promising young athlete of the Vietnam Athletics Team in the race walking category - Photo: NVCC

Van Anh said: “I have to try to overcome my own tolerance to achieve my training goals. On the other hand, thanks to the companionship and support of the coach and seniors, I gradually stabilized my technique and confidently participated in major tournaments.” Since 2020, Van Anh has competed in many national championships for the Da Nang City Athletics Team and won many prestigious medals in the walking category such as: 1 Silver Medal (HCB) in the 5,000 m walking event at the 2022 National Youth Athletics Championship; 1 Gold Medal (HCV) in the 5,000 m walking event at the 2023 National Youth Athletics Championship.

Desire to conquer new heights

In 2024, joy came to Bien Van Anh and his family when from the Da Nang City Athletics Team, he was recruited directly to the Vietnam Athletics Team, training in the walking category at the Da Nang National Sports Training Center. Van Anh is one of the very few young athletes who did not have to compete for the youth team but were recruited directly to the national team. Van Anh's 5-year journey of hard training with so much sweat and tears now gives him a great opportunity to conquer new heights in his career.

At the Da Nang National Sports Training Center, Van Anh is currently focusing on improving his physical strength, endurance and flexibility to better serve the walking competition. He said: “In addition to the time spent training with the coach, I often practice additional thigh and arm exercises to help my arm swings be more powerful during the competition. In addition, I also focus on exercises to support the hips, waist, ankles... and increase endurance. On Sundays or every evening, I will jog about 25 - 30 km to build good endurance for my body, ensuring that I do not run out of breath when walking at high speed during the competition.”

Bien Van Anh won gold medal at the 2023 National Youth Athletics Championship - Photo: NVCC

Being in the Vietnam Athletics Team at the age of 18 was the best opportunity for Van Anh to meet and learn from veteran athletes in the walking category of Vietnam, typically the national number 1 athlete Nguyen Thanh Ngung. What is valuable about Van Anh is his progressive spirit, shown in the fact that he always proactively observes and learns from how to move, turn the waist beautifully while still ensuring speed to learn the spirit of perseverance and persistence in pursuing the goals of previous athletes. In addition, he also regularly exchanges with young athletes, finds weaknesses to overcome, strengths to promote, how to meet the expectations of the coaches for him.

He added: “As a young athlete, more than anyone else, I always desire to express myself and conquer new heights. My immediate goal is to win a gold medal at the National Youth Athletics Championship taking place in August 2024.

In the coming time, I will try my best to achieve my goals and bring home my first achievements in the national team. Besides, I will continue to practice more professionally to pursue bigger goals, aiming for international tournaments.

In 2025, if I have the opportunity, I will return to compete in the 21km distance in some major marathons held right in Quang Tri with the desire to interact, meet friends and see the beautiful roads of my homeland."

Hoai Diem Chi