"I know what you've been through. For the past 10 years, you've worked tirelessly, and today all your efforts have finally paid off. My family and I are truly proud of you. Keep going, your journey has only just begun. And I believe the best things are yet to come," Anh Vien shared emotionally after her younger brother, Quang Thuan, won his first SEA Games gold medal and set a new Games record.

On the evening of December 12th, in the men's 400m individual medley, the Vietnamese swimming team had two swimmers competing: Nguyen Quang Thuan and Tran Hung Nguyen – the defending champion. Starting in lane 5, Quang Thuan quickly pulled ahead. He maintained a consistent performance throughout the 400m.

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Quang Thuan on the swimming track at the SEA Games.

Quang Thuấn made a strong breakthrough in the breaststroke and freestyle events – his two strongest disciplines – before finishing first with a time of 4 minutes 19 seconds 98, winning the gold medal and shattering the previous SEA Games record of 4 minutes 20 seconds 65 set by his senior, Trần Hưng Nguyên.

Quang Thuan's victory reminded fans of Anh Vien - Vietnam's best swimmer, who won 25 SEA Games gold medals. Although this wasn't his first SEA Games appearance, Anh Vien's younger brother demonstrated his maturity.

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Quang Thuấn broke the SEA Games record previously held by his senior, Hưng Nguyên.

The 19-year-old swimmer happily said: "I didn't set high expectations for my performance before entering this event. I just thought I needed to try my best. I came to the SEA Games 33 with the goal of surpassing myself, and then trying to achieve the best results in the events I compete in."

"Breaking Nguyen's record by 1 second was truly the result of a long training process. I had to strive and work hard to achieve it, so I don't feel any regret. I understand that I still need to work much harder in the future. This is my first gold medal after participating in the SEA Games three times," Quang Thuan added.

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Quang Thuấn is following in the footsteps of Ánh Viên in her swimming career.

Quang Thuan also didn't forget to mention his famous older sister: "With the fame and achievements that Anh Vien has won at the SEA Games, I understand that I'm still nothing compared to her. That's a motivation for me to strive, not a pressure."

Pisces (from Bangkok, Thailand)

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/em-trai-pha-ky-luc-sea-games-anh-vien-noi-loi-xuc-dong-2471893.html