Stop calling Quang Thuan... Anh Vien's younger brother.

More than three years have passed since Nguyen Quang Thuan made his SEA Games debut, yet he continues to receive attention from the regional swimming community, commonly referred to in the media as "Anh Vien's younger brother".

Quang Thuan and his famous sister Anh Vien - Archival photo

Similarities with her older sister Ánh Viên

In fact, Quang Thuan's name began to rise to prominence around 2018-2019, when he was just a 12-13 year old boy, joining local youth swimming teams. That was also the peak period in Anh Vien's career.

The Vietnamese swimming community was somewhat abuzz when it was revealed that Ánh Viên had a younger brother who possessed many of the same qualities and potential as his sister.

The first similarity is... Quang Thuan's "stubby, scrawny" physique. Mr. Nguyen Van Tac - the father of Vien and Thuan - recounted: "When he was little, I was worried because he was so skinny! But then I thought about it and realized his sister wasn't much taller or bigger when she was little. I always believed that the boy would grow up eventually."

Then, as expected, Nguyen Quang Thuan's name quickly rose to prominence in the 2020s – a period when Anh Vien gradually faded into the background. Before the 31st SEA Games (held in 2022), the swimming legend announced his retirement from the national team.

Quang Thuấn's performance was explosive - Photo: NAM TRẦN

And at that same SEA Games, Quang Thuan made his debut for the Vietnamese swimming team. He also wore the same Army uniform as his sister, and even followed in her footsteps in the individual medley event.

Throughout his U17 career, Quang Thuấn won numerous gold medals in the 200m and 400m individual medley events at national and regional youth competitions.

At the 31st SEA Games, Anh Vien's younger brother caused a sensation in the swimming community when he won the silver medal in the 400m individual medley, finishing in 4 minutes 22.26 seconds, only behind his older brother Tran Hung Nguyen - who has long been a star at the SEA Games.

A year later at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia, Thuan continued to demonstrate his progress by winning the silver medal in the same event, but his time was now 4 minutes 21.03 seconds.

The sign that Quang Thuan surpassed his senior Hung Nguyen came a few months later at the Hangzhou Asian Games. He finished 7th in the 400m individual medley final, ahead of Hung Nguyen.

Only now does the swimming community truly believe that "Anh Vien's younger brother" has the ability to follow in his sister's footsteps.

While perhaps not as explosive as his older sister, Quang Thuấn deserves to be considered a "star" in the region, competing for status with renowned seniors like Huy Hoàng, Hưng Nguyên, and Thanh Bảo.

We will aim for a higher level than the SEA Games.

What was bound to happen eventually did. On the evening of December 12th, Quang Thuan finished the 400m individual medley race in just 4 minutes and 19.98 seconds.

It was a truly convincing and outstanding victory as Quang Thuấn finished more than 5 seconds ahead of his senior, Hưng Nguyên, and displayed explosive performance in terms of statistics.

Quang Thuan and his first SEA Games gold medal - Photo: NAM TRAN

For comparison, Quang Thuan's achievement surpasses that of the bronze medalist in this event at the Hangzhou Asian Games – swimmer Wang Shun (China) with a time of 4 minutes 20.68 seconds. The Asian Games bronze medal is also the highest achievement in the illustrious career of the legendary Anh Vien.

Of course, achieving continental-level performance and truly shining on the continental stage are two different things. But Quang Thuan has shown that he has the potential to follow in the footsteps of his older sister, Anh Vien.

Perhaps not overwhelmingly, consistently, or explosively in terms of medal count, Quang Thuấn has the caliber to reach a higher level than the SEA Games.

And it's also time for the media to call him by his name - Quang Thuan - more often than just the label "Anh Vien's younger brother".

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dung-mai-goi-quang-thuan-la-em-trai-anh-vien-2025121218202411.htm