VietNamNet Bridge – 18-year-old female swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien has been voted Vietnam's top athlete in 2013.

Swimmer Anh Vien.

Vien received 917 votes from sport reporters to top the selection of the National Best Athlete and Coach of 2013 Awards, announced the organizers Wednesday.

Vien received the votes for her outstanding performances during the year, winning 50 international medals including 17 gold medals from Southeast Asian tournaments, four gold medals from Asian competitions, three gold medals from the SEA Games 2013. She also broke two SEA Games records. She made history as the first ever Vietnamese swimmer to win at the SEA Games since its debut in 1959.

Vien has received funding of US$200,000 to train in the US before competing at the 17th Asian Games later this year in South Korea, where she is expected to win gold.

This is the first time Anh Vien has won this title. Vien’s coach - Dang Tuan Anh - also won the title “Outstanding Coach of the Year.”

International Grandmaster Le Quang Liem came in second in the vote, with 662 points. This is considered a big surprise because Quang Liem did not attend the SEA Games, the biggest sport event of the year.

Liem won the world and Asian blitz chess championships 2013. The HCM City-born athlete also took a gold and a bronze medal at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. He was quarter-finalist at the World Chess Championships, Vietnam's best result in the tournament so far. He also defended his title at the international HDBank competition, the Vietnam Open.

Masksman Hoang Xuan Vinh came in third with 597 points. In 2013, Vinh ranked fifth in the world, took home a World Cup and three SEA Games gold medals.

Athletics contributes 10 gold medals for Vietnam at the SEA Games but there was no representative in the top three. Queen of Speed--Vu Thi Huong ranks fourth, runner Nguyen Van Lai ranks sixth and three-step jumper Nguyen Van Hung ranked ninth.

The three remaining players in the top 10 are: weightlifter Thach Kim Tuan (fifth), gymnast Phan Thi Ha Thanh (seventh) and tennis player Ly Hoang Nam (eighth).

Dang Anh Tuan, who coaches the women's swimming team, was selected Coach of the Year, followed by Nguyen Thi Nhung (shooting) and Nguyen Binh Minh (track and field).

The top three best athletes with disabilities were Cao Ngoc Hung (track and field), Le Van Cong (powerlifting) and Nguyen Thi Hai (track and field).

The top coaches for athletes with disabilities were Dong Quoc Cuong (swimming), Dang Van Phuc (track and field) and Le Thuy Nga (badminton).

The vote of top athletes and coaches of the year was held on the morning of January 22 in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with the participation of more than 125 sport journalists from 50 media agencies.

The list of top athletes and coaches 2013:

Top 10 athletes

1 – Swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien, 917 points

2 – Chessman Le Quang Liem, 662 points

3 – Maskman Hoang Xuan Vinh, 597 points

4 – Sprinter Vu Thi Huong, 590 points

5 – Weightlifter Thach Kim Tuan, 387 points

6 – Runner Nguyen Van Lai, 283 points

7 – Gymnast Phan Thi Ha Thanh, 222 points

8 – Tennis player Ly Hoang Nam, 174 points

9 – Three-step jumper Nguyen Van Hung, 148 points

10 – Badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh, 135 points

Top five coaches

1 - Dang Anh Tuan (Swim), 328 points

2 - Nguyen Thi Nhung (Shooting), 215 points

3 - Nguyen Dinh Minh (Athletics), 120 points

4 - Huynh Huu Chi (Weightlifting), 105 points

5 - Lam Minh Chau (Chess), 96 points

Top disabled athletes

1 - Cao Ngoc Hung (Athletics), 353 points

2 - Le Van Cong (Weighlifting), 259 points

3 - Nguyen Thi Hai (Athletics), 168 points

4 - Pham Duc Trung (Badminton), 161 points

5 - Do Thanh Hai (Swimming), 93 points

Top coaches for disabled athletes

1 - Dong Quoc Cuong (Swimming), 179 points

2 - Dang Van Phuc (Athletics), 168 points

3 - Le Thuy Nga (Badminton), 119 points

Nam Nguyen