Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên is an exceptional former athlete who achieved unprecedented success in swimming. The 28-year-old star has won more than 150 medals, including 25 gold medals in the 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019 SEA Games.
The immense pressure Ánh Viên carried during those competitions is unimaginable. To join rigorous training meant sacrificing care for her appearance during her prime years.
After competing in over 20 tournaments and earning countless medals, how did Ánh Viên confront her fear of failure and the damage that training took on her?
When A Star Falls Short
Ánh Viên faced her first setback at the 2018 Asian Games, where she was the “golden hope” of Vietnamese sports on the Asian stage. Returning home with 0 gold medals cast a shadow over public sentiment, with headlines about her "empty-handed" return dominating the news.
During this challenging time, Ánh Viên also experienced the loss of a family member. However, this event became a turning point for her, as she realized that passion for competition was not the most important thing in life. Accumulating medals would mean little if it came at the cost of time with her family. Some losses can never be recovered. In this light, winning or losing began to matter less to her.
When Failure Becomes A Lesson In Commitment
Overcoming Homesickness To Embrace Growth
During her training time in the U.S., facing a grueling and discouraging training schedule, she had to maintain mental strength and avoid becoming easily satisfied with her achievements. Always striving to improve—that was how she prepared herself for each tournament.
"If a child wins continuously from a young age, she might think she’s good enough and doesn’t need to try harder," she shared. Ánh Viên used to be this child, who showed excellent swimming ability early on. However, she had to let go of that mindset to prepare for the demanding training.
Damage Is The Price To Prime
How does swimming pool water affect a person's hair and skin?
If you like to swim, you’ve probably been warned not to stay in the water for too long. The impact of swimming pool water on one’s appearance is not negligible, especially for a high-intensity swimmer like Ánh Viên.
Swimming pool water contains chlorine, a disinfectant that cleans the pool. Prolonged exposure to chlorine caused Ánh Viên's hair dyed silver at the nape of her neck and prone to dryness and breakage, requiring constant care after practice.
Her skin also darkened noticeably due to outdoor training, forcing Ánh Viên to put her beauty care on hold for a while. Few people know that beneath her tough appearance lies a beautiful, gentle, and charming woman.
In response to these effects on her appearance, she remains optimistic: "In a competition, being beautiful can draw some brief attention, while standing on the podium with a Gold Medal is what makes people remember you."
Cheerfully, she added, "I don’t care about my appearance, as long as I get a medal." She even trained with a group of men and had to adapt to their fast-paced routines.
Grateful For Both The Good And The Bad
"Transformation after retirement" is exactly how the media described Ánh Viên after her retirement. She started to enter showbiz with advertising contracts and a glowing presence across social networks.
Once indifferent to her appearance, Ánh Viên now lives a completely different life.
“Would you want to go back to your old life, with all the failures, the fear of failure, and the damage to your appearance?" host Thùy Minh asked.
Surprisingly, Ánh Viên still chose to relive it all over again. She even expressed a desire to "fight 1000 times harder" than before, pouring in even more passion and energy to see how much better she could do. She had been instilled with this spirit by her swimming coach over the years.
For nearly a decade, Ánh Viên dedicated herself to her passion and to Vietnam's sports industry, silently enduring countless challenges, failures, and pressures. The glories we see on screen are just the tip of the iceberg of what the "little mermaid" went through.
At the end of her journey, she tirelessly pursued her childhood dream and reaped the rewards of success. Even though her hair has turned silver at 28 from chlorine exposure and her skin is not as flawless as she might prefer, she still cherishes these marks on her body. They are milestones of her maturity journey.
The damage will always be there, but it helps us grow. No matter what happens, Ánh Viên believes every challenge has a solution. The most important thing is to reflect on the past with appreciation and move forward with new ideals and dreams.
A heartfelt thank you to Dove for partnering with Vietcetera in this podcast series honoring Vietnamese women.
Damage is a part of everyone’s beautiful journey; it helps us grow and become who we are today. There’s a unique beauty in damage—each scar tells a story.
To all women—don’t fear damage. Embrace the challenges and let Dove take care of the recovery.
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Translated by Thúy An