Hoang had no close opponent in the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle swim in the most recent SEA Games events.
In the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle final on Monday night, Hoang quickly took the lead and maintained it with an average time of 31 seconds for every 50 meters, leaving his competitors far behind.
Another Vietnamese swimmer, Nguyen Huu Kim Son (L), tried to catch up with Hoang but proved unable to do so. After 400 meters, Son was already three seconds behind.
Hoang reached 750 meters in 7 minutes, 32.32 seconds, eight seconds faster than Son. Some opponents were even a full lap (100 meters) behind the Vietnamese athletes.
In the last 500 meters, Hoang was in a league of his own and his target was to achieve the best personal result for the 2024 Olympic Paris qualification.
The 22-year-old swimmer completed 1,500 m in 15 minutes and 11.24 seconds, about 13 seconds slower than his record at the 2019 SEA Games.
This result is still not enough for Hoang to reach Olympic qualification as the Olympic qualification time is 15 minutes and 0.99 seconds.
Kim Son (R) finished second in 15 minutes and 35.21 seconds, followed by Singapore’s Glen Jun Wei Lim in 15 minutes and 40.49 seconds.
The men's 1,500 m freestyle event of SEA Games 32 on May 8, 2023.
Despite winning gold, Hoang was not satisfied because he didn’t reach Olympic standards. His next target will be performing well at the upcoming Asian Games in China.
Hoang is proud that he helped Vietnam rule the 1,500-meter freestyle swim, which they have dominated for the past six SEA Games.
Lam Quang Nhat won the 1,500-meter freestyle swim in the 2013 and 2015 editions. After that, Hoang won gold four more times in the following SEA Games.
