Trần Hưng Nguyên wins gold and sets a new national record during the Eger Cup in Hungary. Photo of Trần Hưng Nguyên

HÀ NỘI — Trần Hưng Nguyên set a national record in the men's 400m individual medley event during a tournament in Hungary on Monday.

The Vietnamese came first with a time of 4min 19.54sec. The new bar beat the previous record of 4:20.65 that Nguyên set at the 30th Southeast Asian Games in 2019 when he was 16.

His result is close to the 2018 Asian Games' top three. Wang Shun of China took the bronze with a time of 4:18.67 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

It is the second national record that he set within three months. Earlier, during the first trip to Hungary in late December, Nguyên set a new height in the 200m backstroke with a time of 1:57.72 in the short course (25m) pool during the World Swimming Championship in Abu Dhabi, the UAE.

Nguyên and his eight teammates are in an intensive training course in Hungary in preparation for their 31st SEA Games in May in Việt Nam.

They took part in the Eger Cup and even commemorated Hungarian swimmer Aladár Bitskey, at the weekend.

All nine Vietnamese grabbed strong results with six golds, six silvers and five bronzes.

Among them, swimmer Nguyễn Huy Hoàng made a double in the men's 400m freestyle and 200m butterfly, and Phạm Thanh Bảo grabbed a hattrick in the men's 50m, 100 and 200m breaststrokes.

Việt Nam Team will practise in Hungary until April 24 and return home to compete at the SEA Games from May 14-19. The hosts will send 32 athletes to participate in all 40 events at the Mỹ Đình Aquatic Sports Palace, expecting six to eight gold medals and second place in the overall ranking.

After the SEA Games, the best athletes will enjoy another training course in Europe to prepare for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in September. — VNS