The French Ambassador Olivier Brochet experiences rowing with the Vietnamese athletes in Hải Phòng. — Photo thethaovietnamplus.vn

Olympics

HẢI PHÒNG French Ambassador to Việt Nam Olivier Brochet has visited Vietnamese rowers in Hải Phòng ahead of the Olympics in Paris this summer.

Welcoming the ambassador were 200 athletes and the entire coaching staff in both rowing and canoeing.

Ambassador Brochet expressed his joy at the warm welcome and emphasised that the purpose of the visit was to share and bring the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games closer to the Vietnamese athletes, as well as to motivate the players participating in this event.

He congratulated the two Vietnamese athletes on securing places at the Olympics and affirmed the support of the French Embassy for all Vietnamese representatives heading to France.

During the visit on Saturday, General Secretary of the Việt Nam Canoeing, Rowing and Sailing Federation Nguyễn Hải Đường introduced the structure and operational functions of the federation. He said that rowing and canoeing have been developed in Việt Nam since the late 1990s, and after more than 20 years, these two sports have achieved encouraging results, with five people qualifying for this and previous Olympics.

French Ambassador to Việt Nam Olivier Brochet (centre) visited Vietnamese athletes in Hải Phòng on Saturday. — Photo thethaovietnamplus.vn

2024 is the first year marking the participation of both rowing and canoeing in the largest multi-sport arena on the planet.

Phạm Thị Huệ (rowing) and Nguyễn Thị Hương (canoeing) competed excellently to pass the qualifying round, winning the prestigious tickets to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Currently, both athletes are training at the Thủy Nguyên Sailing Centre, where national and youth teams of rowing and canoeing gather to train.

General Secretary Đường also said that in Việt Nam, there are 33 provinces and cities developing canoeing and rowing with nearly 1,000 athletes who have won many achievements at the Asian Games, Asian championships, and regional events.

Ambassador Brochet expressed his joy when hearing about the development prospects of Vietnamese rowing and canoeing, saying that this is a truly great sport that mobilises all physical strength and intelligence.

He said he hopes that in the future, France and Việt Nam can organise exchange matches or even further cooperation to further develop these sports in Việt Nam. VNS