Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên | |
Fullname: | Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên |
Nicknames: | "Tiểu tiên cá" (The little mermaid) |
Strokes: | Backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle, individual medley |
Coach: | Đặng Anh Tuấn |
Birth Date: | 1996 11, mf=yes |
Birth Place: | Phong Điền, Cần Thơ, Vietnam |
Height: | [1] |
Weight: | 53 kg (117 lb) |
Show-Medals: | yes |
Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên (born November 9, 1996, in Cần Thơ)[1] is a Vietnamese swimmer. She swam for Vietnam at the 2016 Olympics. At the 2014 Asian Games, she won Vietnam's first-ever medal in swimming.[2] She has been named Vietnam's Athlete of the Year in both 2013 and 2014.[3] By the end of 2014, she holds the Vietnamese records in 14 of the 17 long-course individual events. At the 2012 Olympics, she swam the 200 Backstroke and the 400 Individual Medley.[4] [5] In addition to her competitive swimming career, Ánh Viên also serves in the Vietnamese army in the rank of major.[6]
She began swimming with private lessons given by her grandfather. At grade 5, Ánh Viên competed for the first time at the district level and easily beat her opponents.
She was quickly spotted by coaches of a military team and soon joined the team.
At 16, Ánh Viên was already 1.7 metre tall with long limbs and big feet, considered advantageous attributes of a swimmer.
See also: Swimming at the 2014 Asian Games.
At the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, Ánh Viên won the bronze medals in the 200m Backstroke and the 400m Individual Medley event.
Ánh Viên was one of the top swimmers at Sea Games 2015 in Singapore along with native Singaporean Joseph Schooling. She was the best female athlete at this competition when she captured 8 gold medals, 1 silver medal and 1 bronze medal. This excellent result helped Vietnam secure the second place in swimming just behind host Singapore.
At the 2015 FINA Swimming World Cup in Iraq, Ánh Viên moved into the semifinals in 200m IM but placed 8 in her heat. In the 400m individual medley she missed the final.
Event | Results | Time | |
---|---|---|---|
Women's 200m Individual Medley | place 15 | 2.13.29 | |
Women's 400m Individual Medley | place 10 | 4.38.78 |