Before the 29th SEA Games: The miracle of the 'Gianh River otter'

(Baonghean.vn) - Ignoring the controversies, swimmer Huy Hoang of Quang Binh finished first with a time of 15 minutes 22 seconds in the internal competition of the 1,500 m freestyle, surpassing the SEA Games record of 15 minutes 31 seconds 03 of Lam Quang Nhat. The coaching staff revealed that Huy Hoang could have achieved a time under 15 minutes 20 seconds to compete for the gold medal in this event.

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Young swimmer Huy Hoang is having quite stable training results. With the results of the recent internal competition, this “otter” is the number 1 hope of Vietnamese Sports in the 1,500m freestyle race.

Closing the debate

Huy Hoang is the national record holder in the 1,500m freestyle. Photo: NVCC.

As reported by Nghe An Newspaper, on the morning of August 8 at the National Sports Training Center in Ho Chi Minh City, there was a three-way competition between three athletes Huy Hoang (Quang Binh), Quang Nhat (Ho Chi Minh City) and Kim Son (An Giang) to select two people to compete in the 1,500m freestyle swimming event. Athlete Lam Quang Nhat, who won two gold medals at the last two SEA Games and set a SEA Games record of 15 minutes 31 seconds 03, refused to compete, so only Huy Hoang and Kim Son competed hand-to-hand, two against two.

The competition was internal but was under the supervision of Coach Dang Anh Tuan, Mr. Nguyen Trong Ho (Deputy Head of the Vietnamese Sports Delegation at the 29th SEA Games) and the referees. On the race track, the swimmer from Quang Binh showed incredible stability and was superior to Kim Son. As a result, Huy Hoang finished first with a time of 15 minutes and 22 seconds, while Kim Son came in second with 15 minutes and 42 seconds.

Thus, Huy Hoang surpassed his own national record of 15 minutes 30 seconds 11, while Kim Son failed to repeat the record of 15 minutes 29 seconds 90 set at the 2017 World Championship on July 29. This record also lost to the SEA Games record of 15 minutes 31 seconds 03 held by Lam Quang Nhat.

The story of Lam Quang Nhat, who won 2 gold medals at the last 2 SEA Games and holds the SEA Games record of being disqualified for not participating in the test, will still be mentioned by the press. But from now on, Huy Hoang – the Gianh River otter, officially lights up the golden hope for his 1,500m freestyle swimming ability at the 29th SEA Games.

Gianh River Otter

“Quang Binh Otter” is the hope on the green track of the 1,500m freestyle race. Photo: Internet.

Born into a family that raises fish on the Gianh River, swimming is both a hobby and a job for this 15-year-old boy from Quang Binh. Rain or shine, every day Huy Hoang helps his mother dive to collect seaweed to raise fish on rafts several times. Swimming has become an indispensable need for the 1.78m tall boy with a longer arm span than all his friends of the same age.

After several competitions for the school and district in 2011, the "otter" was selected to join the Quang Binh Sports Training and Coaching Center. With the teachers' systematic theoretical guidance, after 4 years of hard training, "Gianh River otter" Huy Hoang has achieved extremely impressive results. In 2015, Huy Hoang won: 5 gold medals, including 4 Games records at the Southeast Asian Youth Swimming Championship; at the National Championship: Silver medal in 200m freestyle, Silver medal in 1500m freestyle, Bronze medal in 400m freestyle. In 2016: Silver medal in 10km at the Asian Beach Games (ABG5) with a time of 2 hours 06 minutes 29 seconds.

Most notably, this young athlete surpassed defending champion Lam Quang Nhat to win the gold medal in the 1500m freestyle event with a time of 15 minutes 30 seconds 11, breaking the national record in October 2016. With the advantage of appearance and exposure to water since childhood, Huy Hoang also clearly showed his superiority over his opponent with continuous arm and leg movements at high tempo. These are movements usually only seen in sprint swimmers, short distance instead of long distance swimming because it consumes a lot of physical strength.

To prepare for the 29th SEA Games, instead of training abroad, the swimmer from Quang Binh trained in Can Tho following the curriculum of Chinese experts. Following the training process of the "otter", the coaching staff revealed that Huy Hoang could far exceed the national record set last October. "If the conditions are guaranteed and Hoang concentrates, I think he can play well at the 29th SEA Games. Hoang can achieve a time of under 15 minutes and 20 seconds," said coach Nguyen Hoang Vu.

With regular training results better than the SEA Games record of 15 minutes 31 seconds 03, there is no doubt that Huy Hoang is the number 1 candidate for the gold medal in the 1,500m freestyle race in Malaysia.

AT