Dong Nai men's 4X800m relay team place first in national athletics rankings

With the participation of two of the nation's top athletes, Luong Duc Phuoc and Sam Van Doi, the Dong Nai men's athletics relay team has firmly asserted its number-one position in the country by winning the 4x800m relay title for three consecutive years. Most recently, the team has completed a gold medal hat-trick at the 2025 National Athletics Championship held in Da Nang.

Dong Nai men's 4x800m relay team (Luong Duc Phuoc (standing), Truong Nhat Linh, Sam Van Doi, Ly Toan Phat Di, from left to right, seated row)

From youth championship medals to national championship medals

After a period of intensive training, young Dong Nai athletics athletes, under the guidance of coach Nguyen Ngoc Quang, had the opportunity to compete at national and open youth athletics championships. Among the events contested was the men's 4x800m relay.

At the 2018 National Youth Athletics Championship, the Dong Nai men's 4x800m youth relay team, consisting of athletes born in 2002: Nguyen Dinh Hung, Can Van Thanh Anh Minh, Luong Duc Phuoc, and Truong Nhat Linh (2000), did not win a medal in the men's 4x800m relay event.

Just one year later, Dong Nai athletics found joy at the 2019 National Youth Championship when the relay team, consisting of 4 athletes: Dinh Hung, Anh Minh, Duc Phuoc, and Nhat Linh, achieved their first success, a silver medal in the men's 4x800m relay event. Unfortunately, this quartet was unable to win a medal at a higher-level competition, which is the National Athletics Championship held in the same year.

Dong Nai youth men's athletics relay team wins their first gold medal in the men's 4x800m event.

By 2020, the Dong Nai youth men's athletics relay team, including athletes Dinh Hung, Anh Minh, Duc Phuoc and Ly Toan Phat Di (born in 2003, replacing senior Nhat Linh who was overage), marked a historical milestone for Dong Nai youth athletics by winning the first gold medal in the men's 4x800m relay event at the National Youth and Age Group Athletics Championship.

Speaking about the achievement, coach Nguyen Ngoc Quang said: "I am very happy that my students won their first gold medal in the men's 4x800m relay at the championship. This result serves as a foundation for the whole team to keep striving and training toward a higher goal, achieving even better results at the National Championship."

After the gold medal at the youth championship, the Dong Nai men's relay team continued to find joy at the 2020 National Championship with their first silver medal, but the running lineup had changed. In addition to the two key members Duc Phuoc and Anh Minh, this year's relay lineup saw the return of Truong Nhat Linh and a new face, Lu Van Chung (born in 1996).

At the 2021 National Championship, the Dong Nai men's 4x800m relay team continued to have personnel adjustments by the coaching staff. In addition to the 3 familiar faces from the previous year's championship, Duc Phuoc, Nhat Linh, and Van Chung, for the first time, the relay lineup included athlete Sam Van Doi from Cao Bang, replacing Anh Minh. With this lineup, the Dong Nai athletics relay team still could not change the color of their medal, winning a silver medal. However, the Dong Nai men's 4x800m relay team's ability to defend their silver medal shows that they will be one of the medal contenders in this event in upcoming tournaments.

Achieving the No. 1 position in the national men's 4x800m event

After years of dedicated training and winning silver medals over the previous two seasons, the Dong Nai men's relay team claimed its first-ever championship title in the men's 4x800m relay at the 2022 National Athletics Championship. This milestone for Dong Nai athletics was made possible in large part by Luong Duc Phuoc, who had previously won gold in the men's 1,500m at the 31st SEA Games held in Vietnam.

The year 2022 marked a historic milestone for Dong Nai athletics, as for the first time, an athlete from the national team won a gold medal at the 31st SEA Games held on home soil. Luong Duc Phuoc delivered a standout performance, claiming gold in the men's 1,500m event. This accomplishment was not only the first SEA Games gold medal of Phuoc's career but also the first ever for a Dong Nai track and field athlete at a SEA Games.

Duc Phuoc's excellence also helped Dong Nai athletics in general and the men's 4x800m relay team in particular achieve impressive results in domestic tournaments held in the last 6 months of 2022. First, at the 29th Ho Chi Minh City Open Athletics Tournament 2022. After shining with a double gold medal in the individual 800m and 1,500m men's events, Duc Phuoc, along with Nhat Linh, Van Chung, and Van Doi, excellently overcame their opponents to win the gold medal in the men's 4x800m relay event, thereby helping Dong Nai athletics achieve a total of 3 gold medals.

Winning the gold medal in the men's 4x800m at the open athletics tournament for the first time gave the Dong Nai men's relay team confidence to compete in the 2022 National Athletics Championship for relay events, the first tournament of its kind held in Vietnam, taking place in Hanoi.

After finishing second for two consecutive years at the National Championship, Coach Nguyen Ngoc Quang hoped that the Dong Nai men's 4x800m relay team could change the color of their medal at the National Athletics Championship for relay events, as the team included leading athlete Luong Duc Phuoc, who was at the peak of his form, having just won a gold medal at SEA Games 31 (May 2022). In addition, the men's 4x800m relay team also had a personnel adjustment, with young athlete Can Van Thanh Anh Minh replacing veteran Lu Van Chung in the relay lineup. Not disappointing the coaching staff, the quartet of Luong Duc Phuoc, Truong Nhat Linh, Can Van Thanh Anh Minh, and Sam Van Doi excellently surpassed the Hanoi team, bringing Dong Nai athletics a historic gold medal in the men's 4x800m relay event. This accomplishment was the first gold medal in a relay event for Dong Nai athletics at a national championship. Subsequently, at the 2022 National Sports Festival, Dong Nai won a silver medal in the men's 4x800m relay event.

In 2023, Dong Nai athletics continued to achieve strong results in domestic athletics tournaments. In addition to Sam Van Doi's individual gold medal in the men's 800m event, Dong Nai also claimed gold in the men's 4x800m relay at the Ho Chi Minh City Open Athletics Tournament with athletes Nguyen Anh Tu, Can Van Thanh Anh Minh, Truong Nhat Linh, and Ly Toan Phat Di. At the national championship, the quartet of Duc Phuoc, Nhat Linh, Anh Minh, and Van Doi successfully defended their men's 4x800m relay title.

At this tournament, Duc Phuoc also delivered an outstanding performance, successfully defending his double gold medals in the men's 800m and 1,500m events. Meanwhile, Van Doi of Dong Nai claimed silver in the men's 800m.

Earlier, at the 2023 National Athletics Relay Championships held in Da Nang, the Dong Nai relay team narrowly lost to the Hanoi team in the final, settling for a silver medal.

Since 2024, the outstanding individual performances of Duc Phuoc and Van Doi, along with the efforts of their teammates, have helped Dong Nai reaffirm its number-one position in the men's 4x800m relay at domestic athletics competitions.

At the 2024 National Athletics Relay Championships held in September in Lam Dong, the Dong Nai men's relay team, comprising Luong Duc Phuoc, Sam Van Doi, Truong Nhat Linh, and Le Huu Loc, delivered a strong performance, surpassing athletes from Hanoi and Khanh Hoa to take first place. Their victory marked a significant milestone for Dong Nai athletics, upgrading its medal from silver to gold in the 4x800m relay championship event.

Dong Nai men's relay athletes celebrate after winning the gold medal in the men's 4x800m relay in 2024 at Dong Nai Stadium. Photo: Huy Anh

Subsequently, at the 2024 National Athletics Championships held in November at Dong Nai Stadium, Duc Phuoc and Van Doi delivered outstanding performances in the men's 800m and 1,500m events, winning gold and silver medals respectively.

The strong showing by Duc Phuoc and Van Doi, together with Nhat Linh and Ly Toan Phat Di, who replaced Can Van Thanh Anh Minh from the 2023 squad alongside Le Huu Loc, helped Dong Nai defend its number-one position in the men's 4x800m relay. Their collective success also contributed to Dong Nai achieving a historic fifth-place overall finish, with a total of four gold medals.

At the 2025 National Athletics Championships held in Da Nang, the quartet of Luong Duc Phuoc, Sam Van Doi, Ly Toan Phat Di, and Truong Nhat Linh continued their strong form, finishing first and helping Dong Nai successfully defend its men's 4x800m relay title.

This victory was largely driven by national champions Van Doi and Duc Phuoc, who had earlier dominated the men's 800m and 1,500m events, taking turns to win gold and silver. Their performances secured two gold and two silver medals for Dong Nai.

Dong Nai men's relay athletes celebrate after winning the gold medal in the men's 4x800m relay in 2024 at Dong Nai Stadium. Photo: Huy Anh

Immediately after, the national champions in the men's 800m and 1,500m, Van Doi and Duc Phuoc, along with Nhat Linh and Phat Di, helped the Dong Nai men's 4x800m relay team remain unchallenged, continuing to surpass the Hung Yen and Hanoi teams, winning the gold medal at the 2025 National Athletics Relay Championships held in Quang Ngai, and successfully defending their championship title. This accomplishment was the second consecutive gold medal at national championships within 1 week for this quartet.

Notably, with the gold medal achieved at the 2025 National Championship, the quartet of athletes: Luong Duc Phuoc, Sam Van Doi, Ly Toan Phat Di, and Truong Nhat Linh from Dong Nai athletics has won the national championship in the men's 4x800m relay for 3 consecutive years, thereby marking history for Dong Nai athletics.

Representing the Dong Nai men's relay team, athlete Luong Duc Phuoc, from the Dong Nai and Vietnam athletics team, shared: "We are very happy to have achieved the highest result in the men's 4x800m relay event at the National Athletics Championship for 3 consecutive years. Winning the championship is difficult, but defending that achievement is even more difficult. Therefore, in addition to striving to train to maintain performance and achieve personal goals under the guidance of the national team's coaching staff, my teammates and I try to unite and coordinate training whenever we have the opportunity to return to Dong Nai."

Bui Anh Vu, Director of the Provincial Sports Training and Competition Center, stated: "The achievements of the Dong Nai men's relay team in recent years are truly a joy for Dong Nai athletics in particular and for Dong Nai sports in general. To achieve this, we have had to endure 7-8 years of persistent training and investment in Dong Nai athletics athletes. In the coming time, the industry will continue to focus on investing in athletics with the goal of achieving the best results in sports competitions, especially at the 2026 National Sports Festival which will be held in Ho Chi Minh City."

With the participation of national champions, it is hoped that the Dong Nai relay team will continue to achieve high results in domestic athletics competitions in the coming years.

Achievements of the Dong Nai men's 4x800m relay team

* National Youth Championship:

    2019: Silver medal

  2020: Gold medal

* National Championship:

 2020, 2021: Silver medal

   2022 National Sports Festival: Silver medal

  2023, 2024, 2025: Gold medal

* National Relay Events Championship:

 2022: Gold medal

   2023: Silver medal

   2024, 2025: Gold medal

By: Huy Anh

Translated by: Mai Nga - Minho