At SEA Games 33, the men's 4x200m freestyle relay team including Tran Van Nguyen Quoc, Huy Hoang, Viet Tuong and Tran Hung Nguyen won the gold medal with a time of 7 minutes 18 seconds 67. This is the 3rd consecutive time Vietnamese swimming has topped Southeast Asia in this event.
The achievement of 7 minutes 18 seconds 67 shows the improvement of the Vietnamese relay team. However, when entering the ASIAD arena, the level of competition is significantly higher.
At ASIAD 19, the Vietnamese team including Ngo Dinh Chuyen, Do Ngoc Vinh, Tran Hung Nguyen and Quang Thuan only ranked 7th with a time of 7 minutes 29 seconds 99. At that time, the Vietnamese team was still behind Malaysia and Singapore.
Distance with the medal-scoring group
At ASIAD 19, South Korea won a gold medal with a time of 7 minutes 12 seconds 84, China won a silver medal with 7 minutes 12 seconds 96, and Japan won a bronze medal with 7 minutes 13 seconds 38.
The gap between the three leading teams is only 0.54 seconds, showing that the medal competition is very fierce. For the Vietnamese relay team, the achievement of 7 minutes 18 seconds 67 is still about 5 seconds away from the bronze medal score at ASIAD 19.
However, the medal-winning achievement threshold in the men's 4x200m freestyle event has changed through each ASIAD.
At ASIAD 18, China won a gold medal with a time of 7 minutes 20 seconds 80, while Singapore won a bronze medal with 7 minutes 25 seconds 62.
Previously, Singapore also won a bronze medal at ASIAD 17 with a time of 7 minutes 25 seconds 46. At ASIAD 16, South Korea ranked third with a time of 7 minutes 30 seconds 96.
The above data shows that the medal dispute threshold is not fixed and depends on the balance of power and form of the teams at each congress. However, along with the development of world swimming, leading Asian teams are also continuously improving their performance.
Requiring the uniformity of 4 athletes
For the Vietnamese team, the achievement of 7 minutes 18 seconds 67 at SEA Games 33 is the basis for aiming for a better result at ASIAD 20. However, to compete with the top teams, all 4 athletes need to maintain a stable speed in each swim.
The special feature of the 4x200m freestyle event is that the overall achievement depends on the combination of the whole team. A swim that does not meet the requirements can cause the team to lose distance and cause difficulties for the athletes competing later.
In the squad, Huy Hoang is a person with a lot of experience in freestyle swimming events. Tran Hung Nguyen has also competed many times at international tournaments. Tran Van Nguyen Quoc and Viet Tuong add youth to the relay team.
From the achievement of 7 minutes 18 seconds 67 at SEA Games 33, the Vietnamese men's 4x200m freestyle team needs to continue to improve their performance if they want to shorten the gap with the medal-winning group at ASIAD 20.
Vietnamese swimming has had notable achievements in individual events at ASIAD, but medals in relays are still a gap. Therefore, 4x200m freestyle men will be one of the contents worth watching when the team enters competition at ASIAD 20.
From the leading position in Southeast Asia, the Vietnamese relay team will face a higher professional level in Asia. The achievement of 7 minutes 18 seconds 67 shows progress, but to make a mark at ASIAD 20, athletes need to continue to improve speed and maintain uniformity in all 4 swim turns.
