Thanks to her efforts and dedication, 25-year-old female walker Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc from Da Nang has gained many outstanding achievements over recent years.     

Born in Hoa Vang District’s Hoa Son Commune, Phuc is the 4^th child in a poor family of 5 boys and 2 girls.  When she was a child, she would do odd jobs to help her parents.

In 2004, after encouragement from her sister Nguyen Thi Tuyet Diem who was a 5,000m runner in the city’s young athletes team, Phuc joined the city’s track and field team.  Several months later, Phuc moved into the walking team after coach Tran Anh Hiep found that she had the specific characteristics of a professional walker. 

Walker Thanh Phuc

In 2005, when only 15, Phuc won her first gold medal at the municipal-level Gifted Young Athletes Championships.  Since then, she has had little competition in women’s walking events at national level.  Most notably, Phuc won gold medals at the 26^th, 27^th and 28^th SEA Games.

In March 2012, Phuc won the bronze medal in the Asian 20km Race Walking Championships in Nomi Shi, Japan.  Finishing the event in 1 hour 35.15 mins - nearly three minutes faster than the Olympic B qualifying standard - Phuc earned a berth in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. 

In London, Phuc was placed 36^th of the 61 competitors in the women’s 20km walk, finishing in a time of 1 hour 33.36 mins.  This result broke her own national record which she had set in Japan. 

Despite the difficulties and challenges facing Phuc in the future, she hopes to gain more success in the years ahead, and especially to secure a place at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.