After he unexpectedly joined the Danang swimming lineup to replace an exhausted athlete, swimmer Nguyen Huu Kim Son, currently a student at DTU, greatly impressed fans by competing a mere week after being discharged from the hospital following an appendectomy. Yet, alongside his teammates, he won two gold medals at the National Swimming Championships held in Hue from March 18 to 28.
Of note is that Kim Son and his teammates broke the national record, setting a new benchmark at this national-level competition.
For this swimming championship, the Danang team counted fourteen athletes, nine men and five women. In the final men’s 4 × 100 m freestyle event on March 25, Kim Son unexpectedly appeared in the Danang swimming team.
Kim Son with 2 gold medals in late March 2024
This was because, on March 23, the Danang swimming team risked not being able to compete in this and several other relay events as Nguyen Viet Tuong was exhausted. Kim Son was the only replacement they had, even though he was not in the best condition due to a recent appendectomy and having been discharged from the hospital a mere week prior.
Despite this, Kim Son trained a little and decided to join his teammates for Danang. His efforts and hopes were not in vain, and the achievements by Kim Son and the other Danang swimmers were recorded as:
In the men’s 4 × 100 m freestyle relay on the morning of March 25, Kim Son, Tran Van Nguyen Quoc, Hoang Quy Phuoc, and Nguyen Quoc Khai Hoan brilliantly won gold for the Danang team. With their time of 3:22.31, the Danang team established a new record, breaking their previous one (3:22.93) and proving their exceptional skill and superior physical strength.
In the 4 × 100 m medley relay on March 28, Kim Son and his teammates established another record. With a time of 3:40.72, the Danang team not only won gold but even surpassed the previous record (3:44.30). This achievement demonstrates Kim Son’s understanding, team spirit, and adaptability to different swimming events.
Kim Son’s passion for swimming brings him health, joy, and many achievements
“At the time of the swimming championship, I had just been discharged from the hospital after a surgery, so my health wasn’t really guaranteed,” Kim Son said with a smile on his return from the championship. “Nowadays I’m also busy with my studies and with final exams at DTU, so I really just did what I could without daring to hope that I’d get high results this season.
“After the swimming event in the morning of March 25, I immediately returned to Danang at noon to review and take an English exam that afternoon. After the term exams, I took a bus back to Hue right away to compete in the final event with my teammates and then I went back to Danang to continue the fight for the last term exams. This shows how limited my time is and how I divide it for my many activities. For these results and the new records, I thus have to thank my lecturers and teammates very much.”
With these outstanding achievements, Kim Son and his teammates brought the Danang swimming team to third place in the overall team rankings at the 2024 National Short-Course Championships. Besides being a talented young athlete, Kim Son also inspires young people by affirming that any difficulty can be overcome with effort and determination.
Kim Son’s medals:
• at the 32nd SEA Games: one gold and one silver medal,
• at the 31st SEA Games: one gold and one silver medal,
• at the 30th SEA Games: one silver and two bronze medals,
• at the 29th SEA Games: one gold medal,
• at the IXth Vietnam National Games: two gold, three silver, and two bronze medals,
• at the 2024 National Short-Course Championships: two gold medals.
(Media Center)