Anh Vien entered the final of the 400m medley at the World Short Course Championships

Vietnam's number one female swimmer had a smooth start at the 25m pool tournament that kicked off yesterday (December 6) in Windsor, Canada.

With 4 minutes 32 seconds 19, Nguyen Thi Anh Vien finished first in the first round of the 400m individual medley, leaving the runner-up, Hungarian athlete, Ajna Kesely (4 minutes 44 seconds 40) behind by more than 12 seconds.

This achievement helped the Can Tho girl rank sixth out of 24 athletes competing in the qualifying round, to win a ticket to the final swimming at 8:00 a.m. this morning, December 7 (Vietnam time).

Anh Vien participated in the 25m Short Course World Championship for the second time. Photo: Duc Dong.

The 400m individual medley was Anh Vien's strongest event before coming to the world championship in Canada this time. This is also the event in which this female swimmer won a gold medal at the Asian swimming championship in Japan on November 16, but in a more popular standard pool - 50m long.

Anh Vien participated in the 25m World Swimming Championship in 2014 in Doha (Qatar). At that time, the Can Tho female athlete only ranked 13th in the 400m medley with a time of 4 minutes 34 seconds 49. The last time Anh Vien tried her hand at the 25m short course was at the 2016 FINA World Cup in Tokyo, Japan at the end of October, when she ranked sixth in the 400m individual medley with a time of 4 minutes 34 seconds 50.

Anh Vien's result in the qualifying round (4 minutes 32 seconds 19) yesterday is her best result in short course swimming in her specialty.

But to be in the top medalists, Vien will need to make a lot of effort in the upcoming final swim. Her opponents are big names in the world of swimming, including the reigning world and Olympic champion - Katinka Hosszu (Hungary). She is a strong candidate for the gold medal when she ranked first in the qualifying round with 4 minutes 25 seconds 03. Other candidates behind Hosszu include Ella Eastin (USA), ranked second overall with 4 minutes 29 seconds 64, Mireia Belmonte (Spain), who holds the tournament record since 2014 and ranked third in the qualifying round with 4:31.14.

Anh Vien will swim in lane six in the finals this morning.

Meanwhile, Lam Quang Nhat ranked 69th out of 72 athletes competing in the 400m freestyle with a time of 4 minutes 14 seconds 36. In the 200m butterfly, Quang Nhat ranked 45th out of 50 with a time of 2 minutes 08 seconds 45.

In the men's 100m backstroke, Le Nguyen Paul finished with 52 seconds 57, ranking 25th out of 72 competing athletes. Tran Duy Khoi ranked 33rd out of 72 with a time of 53 seconds 64.

The 2016 World Short Course Swimming Championships in Canada took place from December 6 to December 11. Vietnam participated with four athletes including Nguyen Thi Anh Vien (female); Tran Duy Khoi, Le Nguyen Paul, Lam Quang Nhat (male).

According to VNE