Why is it not easy for Vietnamese swimming to have a second Anh Vien?

Veteran coaches said that when swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien emerged and dominated many distances in the domestic arena, units began to shift their investment to events that were not her forte. This situation also occurred in Southeast Asia when Anh Vien exploded in 2015, other countries also shifted their investment, "avoiding" the strengths of Vietnam's number 1 swimmer.

Anh Vien left behind a huge "fortune" of achievements that her juniors can hardly match.

Sports are ultimately about achievement. Therefore, when domestic units and countries in the region know that it is difficult to compete with Anh Vien, they have to change direction or invest in the younger generation to plan for the long term, waiting for the day Anh Vien passes her peak or retires. Singapore, with its strong potential and abundant talent, still maintains investment in the next generations, so when Anh Vien retires, the athletes of the Lion Island quickly rise up.

Meanwhile, in Vietnam, when Anh Vien retired, it took 6 to 8 years, even 10 years for new units to start investing to hope to reap achievements. Not to mention that in swimming, investing in female athletes is much more difficult than in male athletes because finding talented athletes is rare, and they also change their psychology when they reach puberty. Therefore, many female athletes have good achievements in youth competitions but then quickly fall behind and retire early.

14-year-old swimmer Nguyen Thuy Hien is expected to follow in the footsteps of her senior Anh Vien.

At SEA Games 31, the Vietnamese women's swimming team had high hopes for Pham Thi Van and Vo Thi My Tien. At SEA Games 32, there was another talent, 14-year-old Nguyen Thuy Hien. However, their achievements were not groundbreaking, and their physiques were not as good as their senior Anh Vien, so they were only at the level of expectation.

Ms. Le Thanh Huyen, in charge of swimming at the General Department of Sports and Physical Training, said that the Vietnamese youth swimming team currently has 5 to 7 members practicing at 3 national sports training centers nationwide with the hope of following in the footsteps of senior Anh Vien in the future.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/boi-loi-viet-nam-vi-sao-khong-de-co-anh-vien-thu-hai-185230521125649058.htm