Vietnam’s Tokyo 2020 Paralympic campaign wraps up

The journey of the Vietnamese contingent at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games officially concluded on September 2 after their last athlete Nguyen Thi Hai completed her competition in the women’s shot put F57 finals at the Olympic Stadium.

Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Hai at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Hai at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

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Hai finished 10th among the 19 participants in the event with a throw of 8.20m which was reached on her third attempt.

Despite missing out on the podium, the Vietnamese shot putter significantly improved her performance compared to Beijing 2008 where she threw 7.60m and ranked 12th overall.

The gold medal was won by Algeria’s Safia Djelal who broke the world record of 11.16m (set by Mexico’s Maria De Los Angele Ortiz Hernandez in 2018) by 0.13m. This is also a new Paralympic record.

China’s Xu Mian clinched silver with 10.81m, an Asian record, while the bronze medal went to Nigeria’s Eucharia Iyiazi with 10.40m.

Powerlifter Le Van Cong is the only Vietnamese medallist at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

The women’s shot put F57 was also the last event of the Vietnamese contingent at Tokyo 2020. Throughout their nine-day campaign, Vietnam clinched a single medal thanks to powerlifter Le Van Cong’s runner-up finish in the men’s -49kg category.

In addition, two Vietnamese Paralympians made it through to the medal competition, namely Do Thanh Hai (men’s 100m breaststroke SB5) and Trinh Thi Bich Nhu (women’s 100m breaststroke SB5).

The Vietnamese Paralympic contingent will depart home on September 4 and implement 14-day health quarantine in line with COVID-19 prevention and control regulations.