Swimmer Nguyen Huu Kim Son suffered from continuous nosebleeds for 2 to 3 weeks, but still competed with teammates Hoang Quy Phuoc, Huy Hoang and Tran Hung Nguyen to win a Gold Medal in the men’s 4x200m free relay swimming at the 32nd SEA Games.
Kim Son - Photo by Tran Khanh
Kim Son said: “I am not telling this story to justify my swimming performance. At about 1:30 am on May 5, I was sleeping on my left side, and woke up to find the bed soaked in blood. When the bleeding stopped, I cleaned the bed and went back to sleep, but my nose bled twice a day after that, and was hard to stop. I was afraid I would not be able to participate in the SEA Games because this was the first time it had lasted so long, and I thought that eating more nutritious food caused it.”
Fortunately, Kim Son and his team members defeated their competitors from Singapore and Malaysia to successfully defend their 4x400m free relay title in a time of 7:18.51, quicker than Singapore in 7:21.50, and Malaysia in 7:21.55. Kim Son swam first and came in 3rd. He said: “I jumped into the water to warm up and was happy with my physical and mental condition. However, when the race began, I was pressured because my opponents were so strong and famous. I wanted swim as fast as possible to make it easier for my team.”
Vietnamese swimmers continue to win the men’s 4x200m free relay Gold Medal. Photo by Tran Khanh
In the 31st and 32nd SEA Games, Vietnam’s coaching staff arranged the team positions, firstly Kim Son, then Huy Hoang, Quy Phuoc and Hung Nguyen.” According to Kim Son, in relay swimming, every turn counts.
Kim Son said: “The current squad was chosen and sequenced by our Hungarian coach. He arranged for the two slowest swimmers to begin and end, with the fastest in the middle. Huy Hoang and Hoang Quy Phuoc continued to take the two key positions and Nguyen is a good finisher, so the last year’s SEA Game squad remained unchanged.
(Media Center)