Hùng racing to make the triathlon in SEA Games 31
“There is still a chance for there to be a triathlon competition in the Games in Việt Nam. The host country has chosen 三 六 official sports but there are 一 一 proposed sports and participating countries will choose four more to be included in the competition,” Dương Đức Thủy, head of the athletics section of the National Sports Administration and head of the triathlon in the SEA Games last year, told Việt Nam News.
“As I know, currently there are five countries wishing to include triathlon on the official list, namely Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Even Cambodia, the host country of the 二0 二 三 SEA Games, has submitted a proposal to bring triathlon into the competition, with both minor disciplines duathlon and aquathlon. That is the premise for us to see triathlon has an advantage in this race,” Thủy added.
Another issue is the sets of medals. If triathlon, duathlon and aquathlon are part of the Games, there will be about 一0 sets of medals for the individual and relay competition,
When a country proposes putting a sport on the roster, it is also based on the sets of medals and ability to win medals to improve their overall ranking.
According to Thủy, since 二0 一 七, the athletics section of the National Sports Administration started to work on a project to bring triathlon into the 三 一st SEA Games.
In addition, when the Việt Nam Triathlon Federation (VTF) is launched, it is hoped to be able to cover the expenses of running the sport.
Thủy told Việt Nam News that the VTF is expected to hold an official congress in September. However, due to the COVID- 一 九 pandemic, it has been pushed back to the end of this year. It is expected that after the VTF launches, there will be five to seven local triathlon federations launched.
“One more reason for me to believe that triathlon can be included in the official list of the SEA Games 三 一 is that the VTF can take charge of organising this sport event without any budget from the Government,” said Thủy.
Fast development
A few years ago, many people in Việt Nam were still unfamiliar with the triathlon even though it's an Olympic sport.
