Swimming

 

HÀ NỘI  Four Vietnamese athletes will go up against international rivals in the World Aquatics Championships 2025 taking place between July 11 and August 3 in Singapore.

The nation's best swimmers are multiple SEA Games champions Nguyễn Huy Hoàng, Phạm Thanh Bảo and Nguyễn Quang Thuấn as well as Paris Olympian Võ Thị Mỹ Tiên, who qualified for the tournament after beating the Olympics' B standard, a mandatory requirement.

Hoàng will compete in the men's 1,500m freestyle, Bảo will swim in the men's 100m breaststroke, and Thuấn will take part in the men's 400m individual medley. Meanwhile Tiên, the only woman, will undoubtedly shine in the 200m individual medley.

Another Vietnamese swimmer Trần Hưng Nguyên also passed the B standard in the 400m individual medley — but his result was not as good as Thuấn's, so Thuấn earned the only ticket from the International Swimming Federation (FINA). 

The world championships will be the first international competition for the Vietnamese swimmers in 2025.

Facing the world's strongest swimmers will be a great opportunity for them to learn and overcome their limits, according to the coaching board.

There are six aquatic competitions — swimming, artistic swimming, open water swimming, diving, high diving and water polo — held on a rotating basis in Singapore. Swimming tournaments will be held from July 27 to August 3.

"This year, each of our swimmers can take part in only one event, so they need to be really focused. They are asked to at least beat their own personal bests. Swimmers have spent a lot of time preparing for the event, and their results will be shown clearly in Singapore," said Việt Nam's Sports Authority Swimming Department official Lê Thanh Huyền.

She added that they will join their teammates in other competitions, such as the Asian championships in India in October, which are important for the coaching board to finalise their choices ahead of the 33rd SEA Games.

Việt Nam will compete in all 38 categories held in Thailand this December.

In the previous Games in 2023, Việt Nam won seven gold medals, placing second behind powerhouse Singapore, which bagged 22.

In other swimming news, teenaged athletes arrived home after earning third place at the Southeast Asian Age Groups Swimming Championships 2025.

They won 22 golds and set four new records, standing below host Thailand, which secured 38 gold medals, and Singapore, which took 26 golds.

Among the champions, Nguyễn Thúy Hiền and Trần Văn Nguyễn Quốc of Việt Nam were honoured as the two best swimmers in the girls' and boys' 16-18-year-old classes, respectively.

All four of Việt Nam's new records went to Hiền, who excelled in the 50m breaststroke, 50m and 100m freestyle and 50m butterfly races. VNS