With a lift of 181kg, he achieved the gold medal at the ongoing Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the early morning of September 9 (Vietnam time).  The medal is also the first of its kind for Vietnam since it began competing at the Paralympics in 2000.  In the last lift of 183kg, he broke his own world record of 182kg, set at the 2015 International Paralympic Committee Powerlifting Asian Open Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The weight life was as much as 4 times Cong's weight. Cong said: "I'm very happy because I'm not only a gold medal winner but also broke the Games' record. I'm very grateful to other athletes in the Vietnamese team for supporting and encouraging me to gain today's success."
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc sent a congratulatory message to Le Van Cong for his gold medal at the 2016 Paralympics.
Cong, 32, is one of the 22 members, including 11 athletes, of the Vietnamese delegation to the Paralympics. They will compete in athletics, swimming and powerlifting. Cong’s success has been widely covered in international newspapers including ESPN and Sports.ndtv. The International Paralympic Committee, on its twitter, updated Cong’s success and sent him congratulations.