At present, the national swimming team are training in My Dinh Water Sports Stadium in Hanoi. It is part of My Dinh National Sports Complex, built in 2002 and completed in 2003 to serve SEA Games 22.
Swimmer Hoang Quy Phuoc improves his upper body by doing some exercises before getting into the water. Although Phuoc is past his prime, but with strong experiences, he is expected to be the glue of the team and support younger swimmers to achieve their target at this SEA Games, especially in the team categories.
Underwater warmup combined with exercises helps the upper body and hips of swimmers become more flexible.
At the previous SEA Games in 2019, Vietnamese swimming claimed 11 gold medals, of which six belonged to star athlete Nguyen Thi Anh Vien.
In this SEA Games, Vietnam will take part in all 40 swimming events with 32 athletes and target six to eight gold medals. Vietnam will face stiff competition from Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia.
After Anh Vien retired from the national team, gold medal hopes have fallen on seven male and two female swimmers.
Nguyen Huy Hoang is the number one hope of Vietnam. During his training trip last year in Hungary, he broke his personal record in the 400-meter freestyle that was established in 2019.
In SEA Games 31, Hoang will compete in three individual and one or two relay events. He’s expected to claim gold in the 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyle.
Swimming events at SEA Games 31 will take place from May 14 to 19. All venues will allow free entry.
SEA Games 31 will take place from May 12 to 23 in Hanoi and 11 provinces in northern Vietnam. There will be 40 sports and 526 events with the participation of over 10,000 athletes, referees, coaches and experts.
