Vietnam swimmer Anh Vien to face unfavorable competition schedule at 2015 SEA Games

May 20, 2015 | 09:41

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Vietnamese swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien, 19, will face an unfavorable competition schedule at the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Singapore from June 5 to 16 since she will have to take part in four races in one day and may have only nine minutes to rest between two consecutive events.

Dinh Viet Hung, general secretary of the Vietnam Aquatic Sports Association (VASA), said some events Vien registered for were arranged for competition within the same day and it may badly affect her health.

“As the host of the tournament, Singapore owns the rights to arrange the competition schedule.

“It is normal and participants must accept it,” Hung said, adding that the schedule was issued a long time ago.

The coaching board of Vietnam has to make careful preparations to specially assist Vien when she takes part in three to four races a day.

On her first competition day on June 6, Vien is to compete in two races for the women’s 800m freestyle at either 9:05 am or 7:05 pm, and women’s individual 400m at 9:19 am.

That means she may only have 14 minutes to rest if she is scheduled to perform at both events in the morning.

The following day, Vien competes in two events, the women’s 200m backstroke and women’s 200m individual, which take place just nine minutes apart.

Admitting that these challenges are normal, Tran Duc Phan, head of the Vietnamese sports delegation to Singapore, said he will report the difficulties to the organizing board during a meeting on Wednesday.

It is not an isolated case. The Vietnamese cycling team has not received confirmation of whether their route will be through hilly or flat terrain.

Anh Vien is a swimming star for Vietnam. At the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar, she won three gold medals.

Last year, the swimmer earned a gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games in China, and nine golds, four silvers and three bronzes at the 2014 Southeast Asian Swimming Championship in Singapore.

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