The female player humbly said, don't call yourself a swimmer because you still need to learn a lot ahead.
Satisfied with the first Gold Medal
After many efforts and waiting, Vo Thi My Tien won a Gold Medal at SEA Games 33. She and her teammates won the 4x1,500m men's and women's medley relay of open water swimming at SEA Games 33. That was Vo Thi My Tien's first Gold Medal at SEA Games through 3 consecutive times participating in the Southeast Asian Games.
I don't know what to say, the Gold Medal is very meaningful because it is the effort of the whole team, but I am also happy to mark my career by having the championship. I have been waiting for this Gold Medal for a long time," Vo Thi My Tien shared softly after winning the open water swimming championship in Thailand.
In the 33rd SEA Games alone, Vo Thi My Tien is the athlete with the most medals in the Vietnamese Sports Delegation. She won 9 medals, including one Gold Medal in the 4x1,500m open water relay, 3 Silver Medals in the 800m freestyle, 200m butterfly, 400m individual medley, 5 Bronze Medals in the 400m freestyle, 200m individual medley, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay and 10km open water relay.
Sharing about her achievements, My Tien said that any medal result at SEA Games 33 is valuable because this is her own effort. However, experts assess that there are results that bring high significance in terms of achievements.
For example, the bronze medal in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay that My Tien and her teammates won marked the first time the Vietnamese swimming team won a SEA Games medal in this very attractive relay event. Surprise after surprise, My Tien and her teammates also won the bronze medal in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay and the achievements of these 2 relay events have been recognized as National Records.
When I won the Bronze Medal in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay, I didn't believe it was true because the participating teams were very strong. My teammates and I only had one goal in common: to get into the water, we must focus as much as possible on speed. We did it," the female athlete added.
The first time Vo Thi My Tien participated in the Southeast Asian Games was the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam in 2022. For the first time, she won 3 medals (2 Silver Medals in the 800m freestyle, 1,500m freestyle and 1 Bronze Medal in the 400m freestyle). At the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia, Vo Thi My Tien won 2 Bronze Medals (400m freestyle, 800m freestyle). Adding to her achievements at the 33rd SEA Games, the female athlete personally won 14 medals in events competing at the Southeast Asian Games level.
Want to touch the ASIAD medal once
When asked what her next goal is?, she humbly and cautiously shared that she is still waiting for an opportunity to conquer the ASIAD arena. Two years ago, My Tien participated in ASIAD 19 in China for the first time. She ranked 8th in the 1,500m freestyle and 9th in the 800m freestyle. At that time, Vo Thi My Tien was only 17 years old. Now, My Tien is more mature as she has gone through many international tournaments.
The female player expressed: "Playing in many tournaments helps me feel more confident. Most importantly, the coaches help me do my best in techniques and speed. Therefore, I also have goals for myself to try to improve and achieve.
One year later, the ASIAD 20 arena in Japan will continue to compete. My Tien is waiting to have more opportunities to return to ASIAD 20 to compete in her best form. Two years ago, My Tien had the opportunity to compete in her forte events 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle and 1,500m freestyle at the 2023 World Swimming Championships held in Japan.
With ASIAD 20, the competition will definitely be more fierce than SEA Games 33, but when setting challenges for herself, My Tien does not miss the opportunity to conquer them. The female athlete added: "The most important thing is that I always want to surpass my own stats. Overcoming my own threshold with the best stats is one thing that I hope I will succeed in".
Still breathing is still swimming
When this article went online, Vo Thi My Tien was competing in the National Excellent Athlete Swimming Tournament 2025 in Ho Chi Minh City. As soon as she returned home from SEA Games 33, she and many national team players continued to go down to the lake to show their full professional ability.
My Tien herself will seek the opportunity to defend the title of Best Female Athlete of the Year. In 2024, this athlete was awarded the title of Best Female Athlete of the Vietnam Aquatic Sports Association.
Vo Thi My Tien is from the hometown of Tan Lap, Tan Thach, Long An (old) (now Tay Ninh). Up to now, Vo Thi My Tien has only had 8 years of training and competing in professional swimming. Before participating in SEA Games 31 (the first Southeast Asian Games in her career), Vo Thi My Tien had never trained abroad.
However, she left her mark with 3 valuable medals. From those 31st SEA Games until now, My Tien has become a key female athlete of the Vietnamese swimming team. “Now, I am still young, only 20 years old. I still have dreams of competing to the fullest extent of my ability. When I breathe, I still swim. I am a swimmer, so I will focus entirely on my expertise when participating in tournaments,” said Vo Thi My Tien.
In an exchange before SEA Games 33 took place, leaders of the Tay Ninh Provincial Sports Training and Competition Center (My Tien's managing unit) shared many things about this female athlete. There, everyone appreciated My Tien's expertise and considered her a rare treasure that Tay Ninh swimming and the Vietnamese swimming team possess.
I have always admired Anh Vien and watched her compete in many tournaments. Ms. Vien's achievements are very valuable results for Vietnamese swimming. Therefore, I also have the motivation for myself to focus on training and try to achieve a part of such achievements," My Tien expressed.
In My Tien's memory, the memory she remembers forever is the time she surpassed senior Nguyen Thi Anh Vien at the 2020 National Junior Swimming Championships in Da Nang. At that time, My Tien defeated Anh Vien in the women's 200m individual medley event. “I still remember that I achieved the National Youth Record result at that time. Until now, I still remember that moment,” My Tien shared.
Leaving SEA Games 33 with the best results, Vo Thi My Tien said that she will continue to aim for the next success opportunity at the X-2026 National Sports Games and certainly further away will be international arenas in 2026, especially ASIAD 20.
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