LookAtVietnam – Dinh Kim Loan from An Giang, who stands at 1.5m tall, has been body building for just three years, yet in that short time has won two Asian gold medals.

Body double: Body-builder Dinh Thi Kim Loan (right) performs in the mixed doubles at the National Body-Building Championship.

She became a professional cyclist in 2006 when she won a gold at the provincial Sports Games in 2006.

At the same event, she also won a gold medal at stick-of-war. She was recruited by Nguyen Van Hai, head of bodybuilding and weightlifting at An Giang Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

“Loan looked like a small girl and no one paid her much attention. But when she competed, I was amazed at her strength and muscularity, which is ideal for a bodybuilder. When the event finished, I asked her to join the province’s bodybuilding section and she agreed,” Hai recalled.

Only after 40 training days, she joined the national squad and won a surprise gold in the women’s 46kg division and a bronze in the mixed doubles at the National Bodybuilding Championships in 2006.

In 2007, Loan won two golds and a silver at the National Bodybuilding Championships in An Giang.

One year later, Loan won three golds and a silver at the national event. It helped An Giang overcome HCM City to win the tournament, even though the province’s Asian champion Pham Van Mach was absent due to injury.

In 2008 she took part in the Asian Bodybuilding Championships in Hong Kong.

It was the first time she had taken part in a continental event, yet she grabbed a gold medal in the women’s 46kg category.

This August, at the Asian Bodybuilding Championships in Pattaya, Thailand, she successfully defended her title after beating Fung Yin Ka of Hong Kong and Wilainporn Wanklang in the 46kg final.

“I was very lucky that my family encouraged me to play sport, and play well,” Loan said.

Success in bodybuilding has brought Loan money and fame. But she said it was receiving a campaign medal for the Cause of Sports – awarded by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism – that brought her the most spiritual satisfaction.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News