Anh Vien was 'defeated' by a 16-year-old swimmer at the national championship

Vu Thi Phuong Anh surpassed Vietnam's number one swimmer to win the gold medal in the 50m breaststroke event on October 5.

Anh Vien registered to compete in many events at the national championship. Photo: Lam Thoa

In the final swim, Anh Vien finished after 33 seconds 19, 1 second 55 faster than the qualifying round. However, that was not enough for her to win the gold medal as Vu Thi Phuong Anh only needed 32 seconds 67 to complete the competition.

The 50m breaststroke is not Anh Vien's forte, while Phuong Anh is a rising young talent in Vietnamese swimming, expected to replace her senior in the future. In 2016, participating in the Asian tournament for the first time, Phuong Anh achieved eighth place in the 400m medley.

Failing in the above event, Anh Vien then scored a hat-trick of gold medals, helping the Army team finish the first day of competition in first place.

In the 200m backstroke event, Anh Vien finished first after 2 minutes 18 seconds 37, far surpassing the runner-up Hoang Thi Trang (2 minutes 22 seconds 95). The 21-year-old swimmer continued to have no rivals in the 200m medley event. She finished after 2 minutes 19 seconds 55, 1 second 54 faster than the runner-upMai Thi Linh.

Anh Vien ended the first day of swimming at the national swimming championship with a gold medal in the 4x100m medley. She, Nguyen Thi Dieu Linh, Le Thi Loan and Nguyen Thi Xuan Mai finished the race in 4 minutes 01 seconds 12.

In the men's 400m medley event, 15-year-old swimmer Nguyen Huu Kim Son, who just won the gold medal and broke the SEA Games record, only finished second, with a time of 4 minutes 24 seconds 69. The first place winner was Nguyen Huy Hoang, the swimmer who defeated Lam Quang Nhat and won the gold medal in the 1500m distance in his first time participating in the recent SEA Games.

In the men's 50m breaststroke, victory belonged to Vietnamese-American swimmer Le Nguyen Paul with a time of 28 seconds 50. Meanwhile, Hoang Quy Phuoc won the 100m freestyle event, finishing after 49 seconds 64.

According to VNE