Asian Games

Nguyễn Huy Hoàng swims in the men's 800m freestyle in the Asian Games in Hangzhous, China, He finished with a bronze medal. Photo of SAV

HÀ NỘI — Nguyễn Huy Hoàng is Việt Nam's third representative at the 2024 Paris Olympics Games after his outstanding performance at the 19th Asian Games in China.

The swimmer finished third in the men's 800m freestyle event in a time of 7m 51.44sec, 1.1sec faster than the Olympic A standard.

He finished in the same position as he did at the last Games in Indonesia in 2018 and qualified for the quadrennial sporting event next July.

The other two athletes who will take part in the Olympics are cyclist Nguyễn Thị Thật after she won the Asian championship and shooter Trinh Thu Vinh after her fifth position in the recent world championship.

Earlier, he passed an Olympic qualifying B standard in the men's 1,500m freestyle event with a time of 15:04.06 at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena on September 27.

On September 28, Hoàng finished the 800m freestyle after South Korean swimmer Kim Woo-min. His time of 7:46.03 is a new Games record, beating 7:48.36 set by Chinese famous swimmer Sun Yang in 2018.

The silver medal went to Fei Liwei of the hosts who finished in 7:49.90.

Nguyễn Huy Hoàng (right) poses with the men's 800m freestyle top two athletes.

"I have gained my sense of competition, better than previous days," said Hoàng who cried when he was at fourth place in the 1,500m event.

"I regret that I could not earn a higher finish but I have completed my task of winning s medal. It will motivate me and make me eager for more success."

After five days of competitions, Việt Nam have taken one gold, two silver and 10 bronze medals to sit at No 15 in the medal tally.

The team set a target of up to five golds and as many Olympic places as possible.

Other gold medal hopes come from cycling, athletics and weightlifting. VNS