VietNamNet Bridge – Young talent Hoang Quy Phuoc brought home two more gold medals from the National Swimming Championship, which wrapped up at the Ha Noi-based National Aquatics Centre on Wednesday.

The 17 year old swimmer finished first in the men's 50m backstroke with a time of 27.06, nearly equivalent to his old record of 27.05 which he set last year.

Nguyen Viet Trung of HCM City and Vo Duy Phong of Long An finished as runners-up with times of 28.77 and 29.08, respectively.

The Da Nang-based swimmer played a key role in helping his team take gold in the men's team 400m medley relay with a time of 3:57.13. The Army team and Long An came second and third with times of 4:01.50 and 4.07.37.

In the women's 50m freestyle, HCM City's Tran Tam Nguyen defeated Nguyen Thi Anh Vien of the Army and Nguyen Thi Ngoc Yen of Dong Nai to grab a gold medal with a time of 27.64.

However, Nguyen failed to break her own record of 27.16, which she set at the national event last year.

In the men's 200m freestyle, Pham Thanh Nguyen of Long An performed outstandingly to snatch gold with a time of 1:53.75, followed by Chau Ba Anh Tu of Da Nang and Nguyen's teammate, Dang Quoc Vuong, with times of 1:55.91 and 2:01.11, respectively.

Meanwhile, Binh Phuoc's Le Thi My Thao shone in the women's 200m butterfly with a time of 2:21.21. Vo Thi Hong Tho of Da Nang and Le Thi Duyen of the Army finished second and third with times of 2:21.88 and 2:26.72.

In the same discipline, but for men, Vo Thai Nguyen of An Giang won gold with a time of 2:00.03 and set a new national record, beating his old record of 2:01.25.

Phuoc, the first Vietnamese athlete to secure a place at the London 2012 Olympics, and Pham Hien of the Army, took silver and bronze with times of 2:07.25 and 2:11.19.

The fifth day of the competition saw an outstanding performance by the Army's Vien who won gold and broke her old record of 5:01.45 in the women's 400m medley with a new time of 4:57.90.

Dong Nai's Nguyen Thi Ngoc Yen and Thao of Binh Phuoc were runners-up with times of 5:13.09 and 5:21.28.

With Phuoc's efforts, Da Nang defended their title with 11 gold, eight silver and two bronze medals, leaving behind runners-up, the Army (6,10,10) and HCM City (6,4,8).

Hosts Ha Noi failed to make much of a mark at the event, gaining only a bronze to rank 11th in the medal tally.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News