With less than two months left, the 33rd SEA Games will officially kick off in Thailand. The Vietnamese swimming team is entering the final stage in the process of professional preparation for the Regional Congress.
In recent times, key players such as Nguyen Huy Hoang, Vo Thi My Tien, Pham Thanh Bao, Nguyen Thuy Hien... have continuously competed in a series of regional, continental and domestic tournaments, not only maintaining a competitive feel, but also being considered an important "test" towards the upcoming SEA Games.
Imprints from big tournaments
Since the beginning of 2025, the Vietnamese swimming team has gone through a busy competition schedule, especially in important playgrounds such as the Southeast Asian Long-distance Championship, the Asian Championship and the national championship.
In particular, Nguyen Huy Hoang has continuously achieved outstanding results in all competitions. At the Southeast Asian Long-distance Championship, he won 2 gold medals in the 10km and competed in the men's and women's 4x1,500m mixed relay with Vo Thi My Tien, Nguyen Kha Nhi and Mai Tran Tuan Anh.
In addition, the Vietnamese swimming team ended the tournament with 5 gold medals and 1 silver medal, affirming its leading position in the region in long-distance swimming - the event will be included in the official competition at the 33rd SEA Games.
At the 2025 Asian Championship in India, despite having to face tough opponents from Japan, China, and Uzbekistan, the Vietnamese team still brought home impressive results of 2 gold medals, 2 silver medals, and 1 bronze medal.
In particular, Huy Hoang continued to compete excellently in the 800m and 1,500m freestyle events for men, while Pham Thanh Bao won the historic bronze medal in the 200m frog event - the first achievement of Vietnamese men's swimming at the Asian tournament. At the same time, Vo Thi My Tien and Nguyen Kha Nhi also won silver medals in the freestyle and 1,500m events.
Returning to the domestic arena, at the 2025 national championship, the players continued to show stable performance.
Huy Hoang won 5 individual gold medals, while My Tien won 9 gold medals, affirming her No. 1 position in the middle and long events.
Meanwhile, Nguyen Thuy Hien, a promising young face, also left her mark with 4 gold medals and a number of silver medals - showing strong potential for development in the near future.
Pressure to maintain form and new challenges
Although the performance is a positive signal, the Vietnamese players are still facing a lot of pressure.
Nguyen Huy Hoang at the age of 25 is the most experienced player in the team. However, having to compete continuously at high intensity from July until now has caused the training and recovery volume to need to be carefully calculated. At the Asian tournament, despite winning gold, Huy Hoang's score is still lower than his individual record, showing that it is necessary to improve his performance at the right time.
Thanh Bao and My Tien are the hopes in the frog and mixed content. Meanwhile, young people such as Nguyen Thuy Hien, Nguyen Quoc Hung, Nguyen Quang Thuan... need more competition experience to avoid running out of steam at the SEA Games, where the pressure comes not only from expertise but also from fans' expectations.
According to the plan, after completing the national championship, the swimming team will enter the specialized training phase at the National Sports Training Center. This period lasts until the end of November, early December before leaving for Thailand.
At the 31st and 32nd SEA Games, Vietnamese swimming is always in the group with the most medals, competing directly with Singapore and Thailand. With what they have shown in 2025, Vietnamese athletes can be confident in aiming to win at least 6 gold medals at the 33rd SEA Games.
The name Nguyen Huy Hoang is still the number 1 hope, but besides that, the breakthrough of My Tien, Thanh Bao, Thuy Hien or Kha Nhi shows that the team no longer depends on one individual.
Diversification of achievements is a key factor to maintain Vietnam's swimming position in the region.
Previously, the leader of the High Performance Sports Department - Vietnam Sports Department said that the swimming coaching staff had developed a detailed plan for each athlete, including a training program at home and abroad, as well as participating in competition tournaments to accumulate experience, ready for the goal of winning 6 gold medals in Thailand.
