Đặng Ngọc Phương Trinh seen competing at the World Memory Championship 2023 in Mumbai, India. Photo courtesy of Đặng Ngọc Phương Trinh

While learning by heart is a big challenge for many people, it comes naturally to Đặng Ngọc Phương Trinh, the reigning champion and record holder at the World Memory Championship.

The Vietnamese left hundreds of strong rivals behind to top the 2023 championship table, waving Việt Nam flag for the first time at this stage in the competition's history.

Trinh has recently received a certificate from the World Record Union signed by President Biswaroop Roy Chowdhury. It recognised Trinh as the first person in the world to memorize 618 random images in five minutes, 71 pictures more than the previous record.

Born in 2000, Trinh and her older sister Đặng Thu Hiền live with their single mum and grandmother in Lâm Đồng Province.

Đặng Ngọc Phương Trinh (centre) and coach, teammate and organisers of the World Memory Championship 2023 in Mumbai, India. Photo courtesy of Đặng Ngọc Phương Trinh

Despite growing up in a poor farming family, both of them had excellent results at school. They accidentally found out about Việt Nam Memory Championship and were excited about it.

The programme was looking for people with exceptional super memories through smart brain training methods.

"I first learned about it when I was a high school student. My sister and I were attracted and watched every episode," Trinh said.

The sisters researched and practised skills following the programme. They decided to join in 2019 when they were students of the HCM City University of Technology and Education.

Through six months, their effort paid off as they overcame more than 190 contestants to achieve the title of Việt Nam's Super Memory record holders.

Đặng Ngọc Phương Trinh is celebrated by supporters after winning the Việt Nam Super Memory contest in 2019. Photo courtesy of Đặng Ngọc Phương Trinh

Trinh took the top position after taking part in 10 disciplines and set five national records. She was the person who memorised the most spoken numbers; the most historic dates within 5 minutes; the most full names and faces correctly in 5 minutes; the most binary numbers correctly in 5 minutes; and the most random numbers in 15 minutes.

According to the Việt Nam Records Organisation -- VietKings, it was unprecedented in the 15 years of setting records in the country.

Her sister, Hiền, was the runner-up.

"The good results from the national contest were a strong motivation for us to target becoming world record holders," Trinh said.

The duo decided to temporarily pause their university study to join Tâm Trí Lực Education Group to pursue their dream of becoming the world's super memory holders.

It's not just a competition, it's the passion and dream of both sisters.

"The beautiful memories of that competition are enjoying the preparation process, seeing our progress every day, and especially the moments when we were honoured as outstanding people," said Trinh.

Đặng Ngọc Phương Trinh (second, right) and her sister Đặng Thị Hiền (first right) talk with other contestants at the World Memory Championship 2023. Photo courtesy of Đặng Ngọc Phương Trinh

They are coached by Nguyễn Phùng Phong, a Việt Nam and world record holder for super memory.

In 2015, Phong set a Vietnamese record when he memorised 500 random numbers corresponding to 50 phone numbers in 15 minutes. A year later, he became a world record holder after memorising the positions and names of 198 randomly arranged national flags in 30 minutes.

World champion

At the world championship in India, Trinh and nearly 800 contestants from many countries in the world competed in 10 categories, including memorising names and faces, binary and random numbers, abstract images, speed and spoken numbers, dates, random playing cards, and random words.

Đặng Ngọc Phương Trinh poses with the certificate of the World Record Union. Photo courtesy of Đặng Ngọc Phương Trinh

Trinh was the champion of abstract images.

"Many of you may still think that good memory is an inborn talent. Four years ago, I also thought the same when I saw world memory champions doing memory challenges," Trinh said.

"Then I understood that none of us are born with that ability. It is due to practice with the right method. I have gradually researched and learned the method from teachers, books, and documents."

Trinh added that the human brain could memorise visual information better than numerical or text information. Therefore, the method the two sisters used was to encode numbers or letters into images and memorise information in image form. This encoding was not difficult; it just takes time to memorise the encoder.

While Trinh was a newbie at the tournament, there were many experienced competitors, typically German and Mongolian teams, who had practised for many years

"Việt Nam is a latecomer in the field of memory, so to be able to win against experienced players is a miracle and also extremely lucky," Trinh said.

Đặng Ngọc Phương Trinh (second, right) and members of the Việt Nam team at the World Memory Championship. Photo courtesy of Đặng Ngọc Phương Trinh

"Now, I have done what I have dreamed of for three years, winning a world championship gold and becoming a world record holder.

“The moment my name was called on stage was great. When the name of Việt Nam was chanted in the competition hall, it made me delighted and proud. These memories will always live in me, and remind me that we only live once, to live to the fullest, try your best, and then good things will come." VNS