Female powerlifter earns Vietnam second Paralympic medal in Rio

Female powerlifter Dang Thi Linh Phuong added a bronze medal to Vietnam’s Rio Paralympic tally after coming in third place in the women’s 50kg category with a final lift of 102kg on September 10.

Paralympic bronze medalist Dang Thi Linh Phuong
Paralympic bronze medalist Dang Thi Linh Phuong

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Phuong’s bronze was Vietnam’s second medal in Rio 2016, following the men’s 49kg gold medal won by teammate Le Van Cong who lifted 181kg.

Phuong handled 98kg on her first lift before successfully completing a second lift of 102kg to climb to second in the rankings.

However, in the third lift, Egyptian opponent Rehab Ahmed cleared the level of 104kg, beating the Vietnamese powerlifter to third position on aggregate.

The gold was secured by Ukraine’s Lidiia Soloviova for her amazing lift of 107kg that also broke the Paralympic record.

In contrast to Phuong’s extraordinary performance, another Vietnamese powerlifter Chau Hoang Tuyet Loan failed to make the podium in the women’s 55kg event, finishing eighth among nine participants with a modest lift of 88kg.

Swimmers Trinh Thi Bich Nhu and Vo Thanh Tung were also unsuccessful in the women’s 50m freestyle-S6 and the men’s 50m butterfly-S5.