Swimmer Anh Vien listed among 'Vietnam Glory' awardees

Premier swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien has been selected out of 15 ‘Vietnam Glory 2015’ awardees for her exceptional performance at the recent 28th Southeast Asian Games in Singapore.

Anh Vien (centre) meets with young swimmers in Hanoi before leaving for training in the US.

The annual award is co-organised by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, the Central Emulation and Reward Board and the Lao Dong (Labour) Newspaper.

This is the first time a sportswoman has been honoured in the Vietnam Glory programme, said Hoang Lam, general secretary of the Lao Dong Newspaper, noting that Anh Vien is an outstanding representative of Vietnam’s young generation who are making constant efforts to “mature together with the country” as prescribed in the 2015 award’s theme.

Anh Vien is not only chosen for her outstanding international achievements but she also inspires young people with her modesty and unceasing efforts during the process of training and in competing at international tournaments, Lam added.

Vien has made significant contributions to Vietnam’s sports sector over the past two years. The Can Tho-born swimmer brought home the first Youth Olympic Games gold medal for Vietnam last year, which earned her the third-class Labour Order from State President Truong Tan Sang.

Anh Vien was also Vietnam’s most outstanding athlete at the 28th SEA Games, held in Singapore last June, winning eight gold medals, breaking eight Games records and securing a position at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. With these extraordinary achievements, Vien was voted as the Games’ most outstanding foreign athlete by the Organising Committee and was named among the top ten most outstanding athletes of the 28th SEA Games.

Currently, Vien and her trainer Dang Anh Tuan are in the US preparing for the world championships, scheduled to be held in Russia this August.

The awards ceremony will be held on July 28.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)