Tham Nguyen Gough (born Nguyễn Thẩm) was born on 15 September 1996 in Vietnam to Lai and Thuy Nguyen, where she, her parents, and her brother, Nhat, immigrated to Ireland in 2003 when she was six years old. She and her father arrived first before her brother and mother followed the following year. Living first in Belturbet, then Santry, before settling in Clarehall.[3] She said that life was hard that sometimes her family could not afford food.[4]
Nguyens' father interest in sport made her and her brother pursue careers in sports, stating she was active growing up pursuing Irish dancing. Her parents opened a Chinese takeaway in 2012 to support the family, where she along with her brother manages it from time to time. She started going to the gym at sixteen years of age, then after speaking to a young woman who did CrossFit, she then joined a CrossFit gym. A coach at the gym noticed her performance and encouraged her to try out weightlifting.[5]
After seeing her brother, Nhat, at the 2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Tokyo, Japan, she said she "remembered the goal she set for herself many years ago", saying she felt disheartened when she did not achieve the goal. After remembering the goal she set, she went back to training.[5]
2022–2023
Her first competition after stopping for six years was the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships, she placed 20th. She snatched 73 kg, and clean and jerked 93 kg for a 166 kg total.[11]
Nguyen has a brother named Nhat Nguyen who is an international badminton player who competed at the Summer Olympics representing Ireland.[1] She has a cousin named Ly.[4]
She has a husband named Mark Gough, whom she has two children with him, Lilly and Marc. She owns and operates two salons and a clothing brand to support her weightlifting career.[4][5] She and her husband had opened up a CrossFit gym in Baldoyle.[5]
