Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - It was wavy and windy when Tran Tan Trieu lookedaround Subic Bay. Not an ideal day for a swim, but he still comfortably won themen’s 10km swimming at the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippinesin December.

The 21-year-old, who was taking part in the event for the first time, easilywon gold with a time of 1hr 53.31min, making him the first Vietnamese championin the event.

His teammate Nguyen Huy Hoang came second, while Kittiya Tanakrit of Thailandwas third.

“I swam following our coaches’ instructions that I learnt by heart. I reallyhad no difficulty on the way to win this hard event,” said Trieu.

Trieu and Hoang quickly left all rivals far behind and set a gap of nearly fiveminutes between the rest of the field.

Trieu’s gold was the 11th title for Vietnamese swimmers at the Games, making itthe most successful tournament of the team in history.

Born in 1998 in the southern province of Long An, Trieu started swimming forfun with his school.

The fifth-grade boy quickly showed his skill was brought on to the provincialteam.

After two years, he was moved to the National Sport Training Centre in Ho ChiMinh City where he won a number of titles in domestic tournaments for bothjuniors and seniors, including a gold in the men’s 800m freestyle event whichsaw him set a national record of 8min 11.64sec in 2016.

“It's a sweet memory because I beat the defending champion Lam Quang Nhat and NguyenHuy Hoang, who is the current national rising star with two Tokyo Olympicslots. The record was a great result although it was broken a long time ago,”said Trieu.

Apart from regular distances, Trieu also tested his skills in open water eventsin local tournaments and easily won top positions. He joined otherinternational competitions before representing VietnNam at the 2016 Asian BeachGames in Da Nang. He grabbed a bronze in the 5km event, a milestone in hiscareer.

The same year, Trieu was called up to the national team to compete at the 2017SEA Games in Malaysia. He and three teammates grabbed a silver in the men’s4x200m freestyle relay, his first ever medal from the regional event.

However, after that silver, Trieu struggled to develop, so he left the HCM Citycentre to join the National Sports Training Centre in Can Tho city where he hasbeen until now under coach Nguyen Hoang Vu and Chinese expert Guohui Huang.

“We looked at his history and abilities and decided he was suitable for theopen water event, which can be considered the toughest among aquatic sports,”coach Vu told Viet Nam News.

Trieu, the only athlete who specialises in marathon swimming in Vietnam, uses aspecial training programme to adapt to swimming in the open water.

“On the beach, athletes need to understand the waves, the water flow and thewind together with the weather conditions. It is totally different withswimming in the pool. Trieu only trains in the pool so we need special exercises.He is asked to swim while looking around. The way of breathing is alsodifferent,” said Vu.

Trieu had only a few days to practise in open waters before the tournament.

“We have prepared for the Games for nearly a year. We surveyed our rivals andknew that only Indonesian Prawira Aflah Fadlan could compete us. However, Trieugave him no chance during the race. This gold medal has been planned and thetask is done,” said Vu.

For many reasons, Vietnam has hot organised open water events for several yearsbut Trieu has no time to rest.

The coaching board and Trieu are targeting international events frommid-January to mid-June and hope he can grab a slot to compete at the summerOlympics in Tokyo.

“We will register him in the most suitable competitions. It is difficult, butwe can hope, practice and do our best,” Vu said./.