Bắc Ninh
Nguyen Huy Hoang wins Vietnam's first-ever men's gold at Asian Aquatic Championships
Swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang claimed victory in the men's 1,500m freestyle at the 2025 Asian Aquatic Championships, giving Vietnam the first-ever men's gold medal at this prestigious event.
Hoang clocked in at 15 minutes and 15.01 seconds on Monday to take the top spot, beating Uzbekistan's Sibirtev, who finished with a time of 15 minutes and 23.35 seconds.
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Nguyen Huy Hoang wins Vietnam's first-ever men's gold at Asian Aquatic Championships. |
While some of the continent's top swimmers were absent, Hoang's win still has great value. This marks Vietnam's first men's gold medal at the Asian Championships.
The first-ever gold medal for Vietnam was won by the legendary Nguyen Thi Anh Vien in the women's 400m medley at the 2016 tournament in Japan.
At that time, Vien became the only athlete who was not part the powerhouse teams of China, South Korea or Japan to win in the tournament.
Hoang, 25, boasts an impressive career. His best time in this event is 14 minutes and 58.14 seconds, set at the 2019 SEA Games.
In the 2018 Asian Games, he won a silver medal with a time of 15 minutes and 1.63 seconds, nearly beating then-Olympic champion Sun Yang of China. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, he placed 12th, with a time of 14 minutes and 59.45 seconds, just shy of the top 8.
Since 2023, Hoang has struggled to hit the 15-minute mark again. At the 2023 SEA Games, he won gold with a time of 15 minutes and 11.24 seconds.
At the 2023 Asian Games in China, he finished fourth with a time of 15 minutes and 4.06 seconds, and at the 2024 Paris Olympics, he posted 15 minutes and 18.63 seconds. His time at the 2025 World Championship was 15 minutes and 19.39 seconds.
Hoang has become Vietnam’s number one male swimmer, having participated in the 2021 and 2024 Olympics.
He won a gold medal in the 800 m freestyle at the 2018 Youth Olympics and multiple medals at the Asian Games, including a silver in the 1,500 m freestyle and a bronze in the 400 m freestyle at two Asian Games.
He has also claimed 11 gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze at the SEA Games.
The 2025 Asian Aquatics Championship, held in India, is the 11th edition of the tournament.
The current record for the men’s 1,500 m freestyle was set by Sun of China, who clocked in at 14 minutes and 44.10 seconds in 2012 in the UAE. The world record is held by American swimmer Bobby Finke, at 14 minutes and 30.67 seconds, set during the 2024 Olympics.
This year’s tournament runs from Sept. 28 to Oct. 10, with 1,100 participating athletes from 24 delegations. China and Japan did not bring their strongest teams, and Singapore and Indonesia were absent. Vietnam is represented by nine swimmers, two coaches and one foreign expert.
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