It has been a remarkable year for Vietnamese weightlifter Trinh Van Vinh.
The 22-year-old started making a name for himself at the 29th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in August.
Vinh broke two Games records in the total lift and snatch lift categories while also defeating Eko Yuli Irawan of Indonesia, who had earned four gold medals at the Games.
Forward to last month in California, the U.S., Vinh became the first Vietnamese weightlifter to win a gold medal in the men's 62kg category at the World Weightlifting Championships.
Vinh could have earned more if it had not been for his long-term back pain and his lack of rest after the Vietnamese team’s arrival in the U.S.
But such an achievement can be considered a miracle for an athlete growing up in the countryside of the northern Vietnamese province of Bac Ninh.
As a kid, Vinh acquainted himself with several tasks that a Vietnamese farmer would do to make money.
“My parents are poor farmers so I learned to work in the fields to help them as a child,” he said.
In middle school, Vinh was luckily chosen to join the weightlifting team of a local university and had to travel 25 kilometers to train.
He started training with the national youth team in 2014, before becoming the national champion in men's 62kg for the past three years.
Vinh said that his dream is to take part in the Olympics one day, and that he is inspired by Hoang Anh Tuan, a silver medalist at the 2008 Olympics.
“I look up to him for his discipline and will that helped him earn the silver medal at the Olympics. I have been training with sweat and tears just so that I can be like him someday,” Vinh said.
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