SEA Games 33 schedule for December 15th: Awaiting Nguyen Thi Oanh's record-breaking hopes, swimming and athletics continue their pursuit of gold medals.

SEA Games 33 schedule, December 15th: Awaiting Nguyen Thi Oanh's record-breaking hopes, swimming and athletics continue their pursuit of gold medals - image 1

After five days of official competition, the Vietnamese sports delegation has won 34 gold medals, 34 silver medals, and 66 bronze medals, temporarily ranking third in the overall standings, after Thailand and Indonesia. With host nation Thailand creating a significant gap at the top, the goal for Vietnamese sports in this phase is to maximize the remaining "gold mines" while maintaining its position in the top rankings in the region.

Nguyen Thi Oanh has the opportunity to become the "queen of athletics".

The biggest highlight of December 15th was the women's 10,000m athletics event, where Nguyen Thi Oanh competed again after winning the gold medal in the 5,000m. If she successfully defended her gold medal in the 10,000m, Oanh would have her 14th gold medal at the SEA Games, surpassing Nguyen Thi Huyen to become the most decorated track and field athlete in the history of Vietnamese sports at the Southeast Asian Games.

In this event, Nguyen Thi Oanh continues to team up with Le Thi Tuyet – who won the silver medal in the 5,000m. The tactical coordination between the two Vietnamese athletes has proven effective in shorter distances and is expected to be repeated in the 10,000m – an event that demands high levels of endurance, pace, and race control.

Besides the women's 10,000m, athletics on December 15th also witnessed a series of important finals such as the men's and women's 800m, the women's 4x100m relay, the men's 3,000m steeplechase, the men's long jump, etc., where Vietnamese athletes continued to compete for medals.

Swimming enters the decisive day of competition.

In the swimming arena, Vietnamese swimmers entered a packed day of competition with both morning qualifying rounds and evening finals. The spotlight continued to be on Pham Thanh Bao – the swimmer who won gold medals in both the men's 100m and 200m breaststroke at the 33rd SEA Games.

On December 15th, Pham Thanh Bao competed in the men's 50m breaststroke – a short distance but one that demands exceptional speed and reflexes. If he continues to win on the podium, Thanh Bao will complete a "hat-trick" of gold medals in breaststroke events, affirming Vietnam's absolute dominance in breaststroke swimming at this year's SEA Games.

In addition, Vietnamese swimming also participated in many notable finals such as the women's 800m freestyle, men's 200m backstroke, men's 400m freestyle, men's 200m butterfly, and the men's 4x100m medley relay – where young athletes are showing remarkable progress.

Wushu, weightlifting, and other martial arts are waiting for a "change of color" in their medals.

Wushu is one of the highly anticipated sports on December 15th, as the Vietnamese team will participate in several finals in both performance and combat events. The Nanquan, Nandao, women's spear techniques, Tai Chi sword, and various combat weight categories continue to be traditional strengths, where Vietnam has the potential to directly compete for gold medals against China, Indonesia, and host country Thailand.

In weightlifting, the three weight categories entering the finals on December 15th are seen as an opportunity for Vietnam to improve its performance, after young weightlifters showed progress but still lacked a bit of consistency in the decisive lifts in the preceding days.

Alongside wushu and weightlifting, other martial arts such as muay, kick-boxing, and pencak silat also have Vietnamese athletes competing in the semi-finals and finals, further opening up the possibility of increasing the number of medals.

Volleyball, football, and other team sports set the pace.

After the women's volleyball and women's football teams secured their places in the finals on the previous day, December 15th was the day when other team sports continued their journey through the group stage or semi-finals.

Men's indoor volleyball continues its group stage, while beach volleyball, sepak takraw, handball, and 5x5 basketball all have crucial matches that will determine qualification for the semi-finals. In these sports, Vietnam's main goal is to secure a place in the medal contention group, rather than aiming for a "gold medal shower" like in individual events.

December 15th is considered a pivotal day for Vietnamese sports at the 33rd SEA Games. Nguyen Thi Oanh's performance in the 10,000m, Pham Thanh Bao's potential to win gold medals in swimming, and the effectiveness of wushu and weightlifting will partly shape the medal picture for the Vietnamese delegation before the Games enter their final stages.

With the race for the overall championship almost decided, each gold medal now not only signifies a ranking but also serves as a measure of the depth of the Vietnamese team's strength, its ability to inherit talent, and its competitive spirit in regional competitions.