HÀ NỘI — The strongest Vietnamese swimmers will compete for gold at the 18th CMAS Finswimming World Cup 2024 Round 4 on September 6-9 in Phuket, Thailand.

Athletes will compete in both senior and junior competitions at the Sport Complex of the Prince of Songkhla University.

Among the medal favourites are Nguyễn Thành Lộc, Nguyễn Đình Toàn, Lưu Nguyễn Đức Tâm, Phạm Lê Minh Phúc and Vũ Đặng Nhật Nam, for the men and Cao Thị Duyên, Phạm Thị Thu and Nguyễn Thị Thảo in the women's categories. 

All of them won golds at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia in 2022 and the Asian championships in 2023. Notably, Nam is reigning champion and continental record holder in the men's singles 400m bifins category.

In the junior classes, rising stars Nguyễn Khang Dũng, Phạm Thành Đại, Lê Khương Duy, Đặng Phú Quốc, Nguyễn Tú Anh, and Đặng Thị Vương, who triumphed in the Asian championships for youth in 2023, are expected to shine again in Thailand.

“All competitors are selected after proving their expertise through different tournaments. Vietnamese finswimmers do not have many opportunities to compete internationally, so we have created the best conditions for them to practise and hope they achieve as high results as they did during training," said the head of the Việt Nam Finswimming Team Nguyễn Ngọc Anh. 

He added that each athlete was assigned a medal target, but the most important task of the team was to reach standards to earn their official spots at the World Games 2025, which will be held in China. 

“We will send 34 fin swimmers to Phuket, competing in almost all categories. Many of them are young and have lots of potential. In a world-level tournament, we will face strong rivals and hope that our players will not only prove their abilities but also learn and gain experience from other international athletes," said Anh. - VNS