Vietnam's Anh Vien continues meteoric rise with Asiad swimming bronze

Asian Games bronze medallist Thi Anh Vien (right) of Vietnam pose with silver medallist Sakiko Shimizu (left) of Japan and gold medallist Ye Shiwen of China after the conclusion of the women's 400m individual medley at the Munhak Park Tae-hwan Aquatics Centre on Wednesday. - AFP

INCHEON: NGUYEN Thi Anh Vien’s grandfather taught her to swim as he was afraid she would drown in the deep channel in front of her house in Can Tho, the largest city in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. 

She was only four at that time. And thanks to her grandfather, Vietnam now has a world class swimmer in the making. 

The 17-year-old Anh Vien clocked 4:39.45 to win a bronze in the women’s 400m individual medley event on Tuesday to earn her country’s first-ever swimming medal in Asian Games history.

China’s Olympic champion Ye Shiwen took the gold in a new Games record of 4:32.97 while Japanese Shimizu Sakiko took the silver in 4:38.63.

Anh Vien’s emergence as one of Asia’s top swimming talent is not by accident.

She made heads turn with five golds at the South-East Asian Swimming Championships in Singapore and went on to bag three golds at the Myanmar SEA Games last year. 

In her bid to produce a world-class swimmer, the Vietnamese sent Anh Vien to train with the Saint Augustine swim team in Florida, the United States, early this year.

Her career has since rocketed as she won nine golds, seven of them in new record times, in this year’s South-East Asian Swimming Championships in Singapore.

Anh Vien continued to show her prowess, this time at world level. She splashed to a gold in the 200m individual medley and a silver in the 800m freestyle at the Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China, last month. And she was the only swimmer from South-East Asia to take gold. 

The lanky swimmer, who stands at 1.72m tall, now harbours hopes of doing well at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in two years’ time. 

“I hope to qualify and do well to make my country proud at the Olympic stage. It is my biggest dream,” said Anh Vien, who became her country’s first female swimmer to compete at the Olympics in London two years ago. 

She did not advance beyond the heats at that time, placing 26th in the 200m backstroke and 28th in the 400m individual medley in London.

But she expects things to be different in Rio in 2016.

“I am prepared to work hard. I now train five hours a day, six times a week. The Asian Games medal was unexpected as I was competing with so many good swimmers. 
“This is a happy moment for Vietnam,” said Anh Vien.

It is, however, not over yet for Anh Vien in Incheon. She still has two more events - the 200m individual medley and 200m backstroke tomorrow - and she plans to create waves for Vietnamese swimming.