Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên

In this Vietnamese name, the surname is Nguyễn. In accordance with Vietnamese custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Ánh Viên.

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]

Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên

Personal information
Full name	Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên
Nickname	"Tiểu tiên cá" (The little mermaid)
National team	Vietnam
Born	(1996-11-09) November 9, 1996 (age 28) Phong Điền, Cần Thơ, Vietnam
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Weight	60 kg (132 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle, individual medley
Coach	Đặng Anh Tuấn
Medal record Women's swimming Representing Vietnam Event 1st 2nd 3rd Asian Games 0 0 2 FINA World Cup 0 1 2 Asian Championships 1 1 4 Youth Olympic Games 1 0 0 Asian Youth Games 3 1 0 Southeast Asian Games 25 8 2 Southeast Asian Championships 12 0 0 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games 1 0 0 Military World Games 1 1 1 Total 44 11 11 Asian Games 2014 Incheon 200 m backstroke 2014 Incheon 400 m medley FINA World Cup 2015 Moscow 400 m medley 2015 Moscow 200 m medley 2015 Paris 400 m medley Asian Championships 2016 Tokyo 400 m medley 2012 Dubai 200 m backstroke 2016 Tokyo 200 m medley 2016 Tokyo 200 m freestyle 2016 Tokyo 800 m freestyle 2012 Dubai 400 m medley Youth Olympic Games 2014 Nanjing 200 m medley Asian Youth Games 2013 Nanjing 50 m backstroke 2013 Nanjing 200 m backstroke 2013 Nanjing 200 m medley 2013 Nanjing 100 m backstroke Southeast Asian Games 2013 Naypyidaw 200 m backstroke 2013 Naypyidaw 200 m medley 2013 Naypyidaw 400 m medley 2015 Singapore 200 m freestyle 2015 Singapore 400 m freestyle 2015 Singapore 800 m freestyle 2015 Singapore 200 m backstroke 2015 Singapore 200 m breaststroke 2015 Singapore 200 m butterfly 2015 Singapore 200 m medley 2015 Singapore 400 m medley 2017 Kuala Lumpur 50 m backstroke 2017 Kuala Lumpur 100 m backstroke 2017 Kuala Lumpur 200 m backstroke 2017 Kuala Lumpur 200 m freestyle 2017 Kuala Lumpur 400 m freestyle 2017 Kuala Lumpur 800 m freestyle 2017 Kuala Lumpur 200 m medley 2017 Kuala Lumpur 400 m medley 2019 Philippines 200 m freestyle 2019 Philippines 200 m backstroke 2019 Philippines 200 m medley 2019 Philippines 400 m medley 2019 Philippines 400 m freestyle 2019 Philippines 100 m backstroke 2011 Palembang 100 m backstroke 2011 Palembang 400 m medley 2013 Naypyidaw 400 m freestyle 2013 Naypyidaw 100 m backstroke 2015 Singapore 100 m freestyle 2017 Kuala Lumpur 200 m breaststroke 2017 Kuala Lumpur 100 m freestyle 2019 Philippines 50 m backstroke 2013 Naypyidaw 800 m freestyle 2015 Singapore 50 m backstroke Southeast Asian Championships 2012 Singapore 50 m backstroke 2012 Singapore 100 m backstroke 2012 Singapore 200 m backstroke 2012 Singapore 200 m medley 2012 Singapore 400 m medley 2014 Singapore 400 m freestyle 2014 Singapore 800 m freestyle 2014 Singapore 50 m backstroke 2014 Singapore 200 m backstroke 2014 Singapore 200 m butterfly 2014 Singapore 200 m medley 2014 Singapore 400 m medley Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games 2013 Incheon 200 m medley Military World Games 2015 Mungyeong 200m medley 2015 Mungyeong 800 m freestyle 2015 Mungyeong 200m backstroke

Swimming career

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.

2011

Ánh Viên got ten gold medals, one in each of ten categories at the National Championship. She also won two silver medals at the 26th SEA Games in Indonesia.

2012

Ánh Viên competed for the first time at the London Summer Olympics in two categories: 200m backstroke and 400m medley.

2013

At the SEA Games 27 in Myanmar (12/2013), Ánh Viên got six medals in total (3 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze), she broke two Sea Games records in 200m backstroke (2 min 14 sec 80) and 400m medley ( pmin 6 gsec 6). She was voted the "Golden Impression of SEA Games 27 ".

2014 Asian Games

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.

28th Sea Games in Singapore

See also: Swimming at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games

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.

16th Fina World Championship in Kazan

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