According to US Embassy Hanoi's press release in November 16, the US Mission in Vietnam, through the US Department of State Sports Envoy program, and in partnership with the Vietnam Paralympic Association organized a swimming master class for Vietnamese coaches and athletes with disabilities in Hue city from November 6 to 10.

US Sports Envoys Rudy Garcia-Tolson, a gold medalist Paralympic swimmer, runner and triathlete, and Julia Harbough, a swimming coach and advocate for underserved communities in sports and technology, traveled to Vietnam to support the program’s goals of strengthening coaching capacity and preparing disabled athletes for international competitions.

US Sports Envoys lead weeklong swimming training for 50 coaches and athletes with disabilities in Hue. Source: US embassy in Hanoi

The master class brought together 16 coaches and 34 athletes with disabilities from 9 provinces across Vietnam. Training focused on the promotion of social inclusion through sports; first aid techniques and injury prevention; intensive swimming techniques; and training methods to improve performance at international competitions. The participants of the program included mid-level athletes and athletes from the national Paralympic team.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the master class, US Consul General Susan Burns said, “This Sports Envoy Program is a unique opportunity to learn from and collaborate with two talented and inspirational American athletes and coaches. This year’s program is especially significant, as it takes place in the context of our newly elevated bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The unprecedented double upgrade is a reflection of the deep ties that connect our two countries and the progress we have made together.”

US Sports Envoys lead weeklong swimming training for 50 coaches and athletes with disabilities in Hue. Source: US embassy in Hanoi

Huynh Vinh Ai, President of the Vietnam Paralympic Association, former Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, “This program is the continuation of the partnership between the US Embassy in Hanoi and Vietnam Paralympic Association after the State Department’s Sport Visitor Program that sent Vietnamese coaches and administrators of athletics to the United State in 2022. We believe that State Department sports exchange programs such as the Sport Visitor and Sport Envoy Programs will contribute to the mutual understanding and friendship between the two countries.”

As part of the program, the Envoys also traveled to the south central province of Quang Tri, where they joined a talk with 25 athletes with disabilities hosted by the US Embassy in Hanoi in partnership with Vietnam Paralympic Association, the RENEW Project, and Quang Tri’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism on November 11.

The discussion focused on the important role that sports plays in supporting social inclusion for people with disabilities.

Sports – The Bridge of Community Integration

During the talk on “Sports – The Bridge of Community Integration”, two US Sports Envoys, Tolson and Harbaugh, shared with athletes with disabilities their own experience in overcoming challenges to become international contenders and integrate into their communities, as well as promoting social inclusion through sports, and psychological support for athletes with disabilities when doing sports.

Swimmer, runner and triathlete Rudy Garcia-Tolson and swimming coach Julia Harbaugh (blue T-shirts) at the talk on Sports - The bridge of community integration for persons with disabilities in Quang Tri province. Photo by Abi Tran/RENEW

A swimmer, runner, and triathlete from California, Tolson was born with a rare disability. As a five-year-old wheelchair user, after 15 operations, Tolson decided he would rather be a double amputee and walk with prosthetics. Tolson started swimming at age of six. He won the gold medal in the 200-meter individual medley and broke the world record in the 2004 Paralympic Games. He again won the gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, and the silver medal in the 2012 London Paralympics.

Tolson got his first pair of prosthetics when he was very young. One of the greatest barriers, when he started doing sports, was people around him not thinking that he could do some of the same things that others without disabilities were doing.

Even though people referred to him as the boy with no legs, Tolson was just trying to keep up with everybody else. “That was one of a lot of ways for me to stay motivated to prove they were wrong,” Tolson said. “We were born from disability or acquired a disability. So we know what it’s like for others to tell us that we can’t do certain things, for people to make fun of us. So I think we all share that common bond of overcoming our disabilities and still living life to the fullest.”

US Sports Envoys exchange with people with disabilities in Quang Tri. Photo by Abi Tran/RENEW

Meanwhile, Harbough, a swimming coach from California and advocate for underserved communities in sports and technology, said it’s so important not to separate athletes with disabilities and those without disabilities because they can learn so much from one another.

Harbaugh often works with athletes who complete marathons faster than she does, so she learns to be a better runner by running alongside them.

“Not only does it allow me to be a change maker in my community to help support the next generation, especially as someone who works in technology,” said Harbaugh. ” But also it helps us get grants from private funders to raise significant funds in my own community.”

Starting doing sports ten years after losing her leg in a post-war ordnance accident in 1993, 47-year-old Le Thi Hoai Phuong from Vinh Linh expressed admiration for Tolson.

“I agree with Mr. Tolson that engaging in sports helps persons with disabilities like me overcome our lack of confidence,” said the mother of two. “It is important that engaging in sports keeps us fit and encourages us to socially integrate.”

US Sports Envoys visit a workshop of Trieu Phong district Blind Center. Photo by RENEW

As part of the talk in Quang Tri province, the US Embassy's delegation led by Cultural Affairs Officer Kate Bartlett together with two US Sports Envoys and a National Paralympic Committee representative visited a workshop of Trieu Phong district Blind Center.

Thanks to the support of RENEW, 33 blind people and other disabled persons make brooms, toothpicks and incense to generate independent income. On average, a member earns USD 55 per month from making and selling these products to the local markets.

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