A hat-trick of gold medals for Vietnamese swimming at the 33rd SEA Games.

On the evening of December 11th, four swimmers, Nguyen Viet Tuong, Nguyen Huy Hoang, Tran Van Nguyen Quoc, and Tran Hung Nguyen, excellently won the gold medal in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay.

The quartet displayed great composure, finishing first with a time of 7 minutes 18 seconds 67, thus bringing home the third gold medal for the swimming team at this year's Games. Hung Nguyen became the first Vietnamese athlete to win two gold medals at the 33rd SEA Games.

On the first day of competition, Hung Nguyen opened the scoring for the swimming team with a gold medal in the 200m individual medley. He maintained his winning streak across four consecutive SEA Games (30, 31, 32, and 33).

The Vietnamese relay swimming team brilliantly won gold medals for three consecutive editions. Photo: Minh Chien.

Returning to the 4x200m relay on the evening of December 11th, the race was incredibly dramatic. In the early stages, the Malaysian team created a clear lead, forcing the Vietnamese swimmers to put in extra effort to catch up. The turning point came in the second heat when Huy Hoang accelerated strongly, significantly narrowing the gap. Then, Hung Nguyen made a decisive breakthrough in the final heat, leading the Vietnamese team to first place.

Vietnamese swimmers achieved a hat-trick of gold medals in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay in three consecutive SEA Games. At the 32nd SEA Games, the team consisting of Kim Son, Quy Phuoc, Hung Nguyen, and Huy Hoang won the gold medal with a time of 7 minutes 18 seconds 51. At the 31st SEA Games, this quartet broke the Games record with a time of 7 minutes 16 seconds 31.

Hung Nguyen is the first Vietnamese athlete to win two gold medals at this year's SEA Games. Photo: Minh Chien.

Not only did Pham Thanh Bao shine in the relay event on December 11th, but he also continued to show consistent form. In the 100m breaststroke final, he controlled the ball well from the first meters before accelerating to finish first with a time of 1 minute 01 seconds 43, beating two Singaporean competitors.

The Vietnamese swimming team brought home 3 gold medals in 2 days of competition. With the high performance of key athletes, the Vietnamese swimming team continues to assert its outstanding strength in regional swimming competitions.

Source: https://znews.vn/cu-hat-trick-vang-cho-boi-loi-viet-nam-o-sea-games-33-post1610528.html