LookAtVietnam – HCM City took top place in the medal tally with three golds, four silvers and one bronze at the opening day of the National Short Distance Swimming Championships at the Ha Noi Sports Centre for Top Athletes yesterday.

Nguyen Huu Viet.

Over 150 athletes from teams nationwide will compete for 68 medals in swimming and fin swimming events.

Top athletes including Olympian Nguyen Huu Viet from Hai Phong, teenager Hoang Quy Phuoc of Da Nang and Hanoian Do Huy Long are expected to dominate the men’s events.

National team member and swimmer for the Army Nguyen Thanh Hai has been training in China and will not take part in the contest.

After the championship national team members, including Viet, Long and Phuoc, will head to Kunming, China, for a prolonged training session.

The women’s side will see contests between Thanh Hoa’s Vo Thi Dai Trang, HCM City’s An Do Hanh and Vo Thi Thanh Vy, all of whom are national team members.

At last year’s championship in HCM City, Viet of Hai Phong set a record in the men’s 50m breaststroke on the opening day.

The two-time Olympic athlete expects to break more records at the championship over next few days.

The 21-year-old swimmer failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics in the 100m breaststroke when he finished 58 out of 63.

He did, however, qualify for competition in the 2004 Athens Olympics, and will spearhead Viet Nam’s bid for future international competitions.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News