Weightlifter Le Van Cong clinches Vietnam's first medal at Paralympic Games Paris 2024
(VOVWORLD) -Vietnamese weightlifter Le Van Cong clinched a bronze medal in the men's 49kg category at the Paris Paralympic Games on Wednesday, the first medal of the Vietnamese Paralympic team.
 Athlete Le Van Cong successfully lifted a weight of 171kg. Photo: qdnd.vn
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Cong won the medal by lifting 171 kg on his first attempt. He was unsuccessful in his subsequent attempts to lift higher weights.
Prior to the tournament, Cong held the world record in the 49kg weight class with a lift of 183.5kg, set at the World Championship in Mexico in 2017. The 40-year-old weightlifter also held the Paralympic record with a lift of 183kg, which earned him the gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016.
Also on Wednesday, Pham Nguyen Khanh Minh completed the qualifying round of the men's 100m running event for the T12 disability level. With 51 seconds 28 Khanh Minh was ranked 3rd and unable to advance to the final round. Competing in the Paralympics for the first time, Minh is the youngest athlete of the Vietnam Paralympic team. He won two silver medals and one bronze medal at the Asian Para Games in 2018 and 2023.
As of Thursday noon, team China maintained the top position on medal table with 62 golds, 46 silvers and 27 bronzes, followed by the UK with 33 gold medals and the USA with 25 gold medals.