The most outstanding Vietnamese athletes of the year were honoured in a ceremony called Vietnam Glory in Hanoi yesterday.

The best athletes with disabilities of 2015 receive their certificates at a ceremony on Friday.

The annual event featured the 10 best athletes, five best coaches, five best athletes with disabilities, and three coaches of disabled athletes.

Swimmer Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên took the top position for the third year in a row after receiving 1,031 points from a poll conducted among 160 sports journalists at home and abroad.

Viên was not there to receive the honour as she was training in the United States for the upcoming Olympics in Brazil.

Viên was the most successful swimmer in Việt Nam throughout the year in the most important national sports event at Singapore’s 28th Southeast Asian Games in June. Her stunning performance helped her to break eight records and qualify in four categories for the Olympics.

Viên brought home two silvers and one bronze at a World Cup. She also won one gold and one bronze at the sixth Military World Games.

With her outstanding performance, Viên was named one of Asia’s five best female swimmers by US based Swimswam magazine.

Other athletes included runner Nguyễn Thị Huyền, tennis player Lý Hoàng Nam and weightlifter Thạch Kim Tuấn.

“I am very happy to be one of the top 10 players of the year. It will be a strong push for me as I am going to compete at the Rio de Janeiro Games this summer,” Tuấn said at the ceremony.

Tuấn is one of the 10 Vietnamese who have qualified for the Games till now.

Powerlifter Lê Văn Công also received an award at the event yesterday as he topped the poll for the athletes with disabilities.

“I am really proud of what I have done to achieve this success. I have tried my best, overcome many difficulties to win. I will have to do better for the coming Paralympics,” Công, who recently set up an Asian and world record in the men’s 49kg category, said.

Deputy Head of the Việt Nam Sports Administration Phạm Văn Tuấn, speaking with reporters on the sidelines of the event, said that Công would definitely win a medal at the coming Paralympics.

The other best athletes with disabilities were swimmers Trịnh Thị Bích Như, Nguyễn Thành Trung and Võ Thanh Tùng, and runner Nguyễn Thị Thủy.

While the successes of the athletes were due to their talent their coaches too played a big part in it.

Among the coaches honoured yesterday were Huỳnh Hữu Chí (weighlifting), Trương Tuấn Hiền (gymnastics) and Đổng Quốc Cường (athletics).

The ceremony was a part of the four-day programme to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Sports Day (March 27) at the Việt Nam Exhibition Centre for Culture and Arts, 2 Hoa Lư Street, Hà Nội. Many activities have been organised during these days including photo exhibitions, aerobics and yoga performances, and motorcycle and sports bike parades.

The programme will conclude on March 28. 

VNS