Considering competition from Swimming – Athletics: SEA Games “village pond”?

SEA Games – Southeast Asian Games, many times received criticism for backlog problems in the organization stage, in the matter of arbitration … over the period. Undeniably, the “grains” sometimes still appear, but it cannot be said that the quality of this regional tournament is forever “stagnant” or “village pond” that is getting better. after each event.

SEA Games 31 It is also the Games with a high percentage of sports in the Olympic Games (60%) and ASIAD (85%) compared to the previous SEA Games held in the Philippines. This is a very remarkable signal because the achievements of athletes in Olympic sports can be considered “not able to lie”. Because all results will be recorded by the modern system in which it is almost impossible for humans to interfere.

More gladly, in the top basic sports in the Olympic competition system such as Swimming or Athletics, the Vietnamese Sports Delegation once again achieved more than expected achievements.

Vietnam athletics: Dominating the 31st SEA Games

At the end of the 31st SEA Games, Vietnamese athletics held the No. 1 position in this “Queen Sports” with excellent achievements including 22 gold medals, 15 silver medals and 8 bronze medals – far ahead of the 12 gold medals of the next team. followed by Thailand – and also far exceeded the target set by Vietnam Athletics before the Games.

This is the best achievement of a sports team ever won at the SEA Games – equaling the gold medal record of the Thai delegation set at SEA Games 21 (2011).

While short distance runs like 200m remind people of Tu Chinh’s unfortunate absence before the Games, the success of Vietnamese Athletics has largely come in the women’s middle and long runs. , when winning all 8 gold medals.

Among the shining Vietnamese athletes at the 31st SEA Games must be mentioned excellent runners, such as: Nguyen Thi Oanh (3 gold medals); Nguyen Thi Huyen, Quach Thi Lan, Nguyen Van Lai with a double gold medal.

Besides the famous faces, the Athletics arena also witnessed the unexpected and emotional ascent to the throne as the Marathon gold medal for the first time in the history of the SEA Games of Vietnam belongs to athlete Hoang Nguyen Thanh. .

Hoang Nguyen Thanh is the first Vietnamese athlete in history to win gold in Marathon content.

Lo Thi Hoang broke the SEA Games record in javelin throwing with a time of 56.37m.

Besides, there is the 7-year-old pentathlon championship of the 25-year-old Muong ethnic girl Nguyen Linh Na after 17 years when Vietnam could not take the throne, and the gold medal in the women’s 100m hurdles race of athlete Bui Thi Nguyen with a time of 13s51′. ‘, is the SEA Games record in javelin throwing with a time of 56.37m of Lo Thi Hoang.

Swimming in Vietnam: Men’s swimmers fill the nostalgia of Anh Vien

At the 31st SEA Games, the Vietnamese swimming team was absent from Anh Vien, who brought home 6/10 gold medals at the previous Games. At the end of the competition at the green track, although not first in the whole team, swimming in Vietnam also improved its performance compared to the last SEA Games with 11 golds, 11 silvers and 3 bronzes.

In addition to the gold medal in the men’s 4x100m relay with some luck (when the two teams that finished before the Vietnamese team were stripped of their medals due to a violation of the rules), the remaining 10 gold medals at the 31st SEA Games all showed the strength of the athletes. .

In the context that no female athlete has shown enough scope to fill the absence of Anh Vien, the Vietnamese male swimmers shine brightly to help the Vietnamese swimming team maintain their achievements.

Huy Hoang is almost “unmatched” at his forte content

The most notable is swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang with 4 gold medals in individual events (400m freestyle, 800m freestyle, 1,500m freestyle, 200m butterfly). He also participated in the 4x200m relay swimming team to win gold and break the SEA Games record.

Besides Huy Hoang, Tran Hung Nguyen and Pham Thanh Bao were also particularly impressed with their remarkable achievements.

Pham Thanh Bao and Tran Hung Nguyen had a memorable 31st SEA Games

Tran Hung Nguyen successfully defended the individual gold medal of the SEA Games 400m medley won in 2019 in the Philippines and also broke his own SEA Games record, which was set at the previous Games.

Pham Thanh Bao broke the SEA Games record in the 50m and 100m breaststroke events. Most impressive is the gold medal in the 50m breaststroke, marking the first time that Vietnamese swimmers have surpassed Thailand or Singapore in a short distance. This achievement also helps him become the first Vietnamese athlete to win gold in the 50m distance at the SEA Games arena.

Going to the big sea from the river

Looking at the statistics, we can see that in many SEA Games gold medal winning events, our athletes have to improve a lot to reach Olympic standards. But the data also shows that sports in Vietnam in particular or the region in general are not only “around the village pond” when the athletes’ achievements are constantly improving.

Sharing about his achievements at SEA Games 31, swimmer Huy Hoang said: “This is the result of a very long preparation process, not just one or two months of practice. I have had to practice for many years to aim. Results like these should feel happy and proud right now.”

So, isn’t attaching the word “village pond” to a regional tournament that is throwing away thousands of hours of practice, sweat and tears of athletes?

Before winning the Singapore Olympics, Joseph Schooling was also a “new” athlete, a promising face at the 28th SEA Games – Singapore 2015, competing for the title of the best athlete of the Games with Anh Vien. Like Joseph Schooling, the same story happened with sniper Hoang Xuan Vinh (Vietnam), with Taekwondo athlete Panipak Wongpattanakit (Thailand), with weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz (Philippines)… They are all champions. SEA Games before stepping on the highest peak of the Olympic arena.

Working from low to high, going to the big sea from rivers and lakes, that’s been the law of the past!

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