HA NOI (VNS)—SEA Games silver medal winner Tran Xuan Hien died in a traffic accident on Sunday, aged 32.

The Quang Binh Province-born swimmer was said to be one of the best athletes in Vietnamese swimming, as he ended the national 28-year medal drought in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games by winning a silver in the men's 100m breaststroke in 2001.

Hien retired two years later, working hard in daily life to make ends meet. Hien was a trainer and security guard at the Tan Phu District's swimming club in HCM City.

He is survived by a wife and two young daughters.

Friends and colleagues collected money to bring him home and organise his funeral. — VNS