Anh Vien makes history for Vietnamese swimming

Finishing third in the 400m medley final on the afternoon of September 23, Nguyen Thi Anh Vien helped Vietnamese swimming win a medal at the Asian Games for the first time in history.

Anh Vien's achievements this time were beyond expectations. Photo: Lam Thoa.

In the qualifying round that took place in the morning, Anh Vien did not compete very well and only ranked seventh out of eight athletes who qualified to continue with a time of 4 minutes 47 seconds 71. The above result forced the Vietnamese swimmer to compete in lane number one and suffered many disadvantages when entering the final round at 5:30 pm Hanoi time.

Anh Vien started slowly, and finished the first 100m in the back half of the race. However, the 1996-born swimmer immediately made a spectacular breakthrough, at times moving up to second, before finishing third with a time of 4 minutes 39 seconds 65 and winning the bronze medal. The gold medal went to Ye Shiwen with a time of 4 minutes 32 seconds 97 - also a new record at the Asian Games. This Chinese female swimmer holds the world record and is the reigning Olympic champion in the women's 400m medley.

With 4 minutes 38 seconds 63, the silver medal belonged to Sakiko Shimizu (Japan) - who surpassed Anh Vien after the first 250m thanks to being stronger in the breaststroke.

Although she failed in her attempt to regain second place, the bronze medal for Anh Vien was a great success and valuable in many ways, especially as it marked the first time Vietnamese swimming won a medal at the ASIAD.

Anh Vien with the historic medal on the afternoon of September 23. Photo: Reuters.

4 minutes 39 seconds 65 is also Anh Vien's best result in the women's 400m medley. Previously, at the 27th SEA Games held in Myanmar in 2013, the swimmer from Can Tho broke the record, winning a gold medal with a time of 4 minutes 46 seconds 16. Earlier this year, while competing for the Saint Augustin Club (USA) at the Orlando Grand Prix, Anh Vien raised her record to 4 minutes 41 seconds 68.

Up to now, the Vietnamese sports delegation has won one gold medal, two silver medals, and six bronze medals at the 17th ASIAD.

According to VnExpress.net