Trần Hà Vi, a former Vietnam national team aerobic gymnast and SEA Games 32 champion, will compete at the 10th National Sports Games in 2026 now that her international doping ban has expired. According to SGGP, she is on Hà Nội's entry list for aerobic gymnastics, and her registration meets the rules despite her past doping sanction.

From SEA Games gold to a two-year ban

The key dates in her case, as compiled from SGGP's reporting:

  • 2023: wins the women's individual aerobic gold at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia.
  • 16 September 2023: a sample is taken from her at the 2023 Asian Championships in Mongolia, where she wins the women's individual gold.
  • 2024: the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) officially announces that her sample tested positive for banned substances.
  • 15 November 2025: her two-year ban ends.
  • 2026: she is registered by Hà Nội for the 10th National Sports Games.

The International Testing Agency (ITA), cited by SGGP, listed four prohibited substances in her sample: hydrochlorothiazide, chlorothiazide, amiloride and sibutramine. Her individual gold from the Asian Championships in Mongolia was stripped because of the violation, and she was banned for two years.

Why her return matters

SGGP describes Hà Vi as the most recent Vietnamese athlete to return a positive test at an international competition. Her comeback coincides with a Games at which doping control has been planned in detail, and for Hà Nội it adds an athlete who has won individual gold at the SEA Games.

The Games will run a doping programme of their own. SGGP reports that the event's doping control sub-committee plans to collect 160 samples across all sports during the Games. Tests are random and unannounced, and samples will be analysed at a laboratory accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The Games' anti-doping rules state that athletes are responsible for any substance found in their samples, even when it was taken unknowingly, supplied by someone else or contained in medication or supplements of unclear composition.

What's next

The 10th National Sports Games officially run from 14 November to 12 December, SGGP reports, and Hà Vi will compete in aerobic gymnastics for Hà Nội. Doping control will begin on the first day of competition and end on the day of the closing ceremony, with testing stations set up at the venues. Athletes can be selected through targeted testing, at random or on the basis of their results.