A Games full of new records

Thanh Nga

HÀ NỘI — At the SEA Games 31 athletes completed for gold and often, set new records along the way. 

As well as the chance to win glory, the region’s biggest sports event was also a launching platform for sports talents towards continental, world and Olympics events.

Here are some of the most outstanding new records, set by athletes at this year’s Games.

In athletics, Nguyễn Thi Oanh rose as a star after she won a hat-trick of golds. She was also the winner of the women’s 3,000m hurdles with a time of 9min 46sec, breaking her own record of 10min and 0.02sec set at SEA Games 30 in the Philippines.

Ernest John Obiena of the Philippines broke the pole vault record with a time of 5.46m, beating the old record of 5.45m. Puripol Boonson of Thailand beat the previous record of 20.69sec with his new time of 20.37sec in the men’s 200m category.

Young star of Thailand, Puripol Boonson set a record in the men’s 200m. VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hùng

William Morrison set a new record in the men’s shot-put for the Philippines team with the result of 18.14m, surpassing the 17.74m set by Chatchawal Polyiam of Thailand at the Games in Indonesia in 2011.

Lò Thị Hoàng broke the Games record in the women’s javelin throw with a distance of 56.37m. She overcame five athletes, including defending champion Natta Nachan of Thailand, in this event. The previous record of 55.97m, set by a Thai athlete, had stood for 15 years.

“I’ve been doing sports for 10 years and have experienced many difficulties because of pressure and injury. Until now, I still don’t believe that I can win a gold medal and break the Games record,” Hoàng said.

Lò Thị Hoàng broke the Games record in the women’s javelin throw. VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hùng

In a 4x400m mixed relay race, the Thai team defeated the hosts Việt Nam to take gold and set a new record with a time of 3:19.29, breaking the Games record of 3:19.50 of Việt Nam set in the Philippines 2019.

For swimming, the Tokyo Olympian Nguyễn Huy Hoàng earned five gold medals and broke two Games records. He set a new record in men’s 400m freestyle with a time of 3:48.46 and then, as part of the Vietnamese swimming team with Nguyễn Hữu Kim Sơn, Hoàng Quý Phước and Trần Hưng Nguyên, set a new record in the men’s freestyle 4x200m relay event with a time of 7:16.31. 

With the result of 4:18.10, Nguyên not only maintained his top position in the men’s 400m medley from the last Games in 2019 but also broke the previous Games record of 4:20:65 set by himself.

Another swimming rising star, Phạm Thanh Bảo, won a gold medal in the men’s 100m breaststroke and broke the record of 1:01.46 held by James Daiparines of the Philippines at the Games in 2019.

Quah Jing Wen clinched Singapore’s gold medal and set a new SEA Games record of 2:09.52 in the women’s 200m butterfly, beating the old record of 2:10.97.

Wen’s teammate, Teong Tzen Wei set a record in Southeast Asia in the men’s 50m butterfly with a time of 23.04sec, defeating the old record of 23.06sec. Wei also set a record in the men’s 50m freestyle after finishing first at a time of 21.93 seconds.

For finswimming, in the women’s 100m surface, Phạm Thị Thu earned gold and set a record with a time of 40.41sec. The previous best time of 40.61sec was set by Thu in qualification. 

Nguyễn Thành Lộc also clinched gold and made his name in the Games record list with a time e34.82sec. The previous record was 36.94sec, set by Nguyễn Trung Kiên at the 2011 Games in Indonesia.

Indonesian Harvey Hubert Marcello Hutasuhut clinched gold with a new Games record of 43.51sec in the men’s 100m bi-fins, beating compatriot Wesshasartar Nutt’s 44.37s feat set in the 2011 Indonesia Games.

Weightlifter Phạm Thị Hồng Thanh. VNA/VNS Photo

For weightlifting, Vietnamese weightlifter Phạm Thị Hồng Thanh broke three Games records in the women’s -64kg category. Thanh’s 104kg is the new record in the snatch event, 6kg higher than the old record. In the clean and jerk, she lifted 126kg, a new Games record, 2kg higher than the last. With a total lift of 230kg, she secured a third record, a full 6kg heavier than the old record she set in the Philippines Games.

Hoàng Thị Duyên set up a new Games record in the women’s U59kg class. The Tokyo Olympian lifted 96kg in the snatch, 1kg more than the previous one she set in the Games in 2019.

Lại Gia Thành set a new Games record and defended his title in the men’s 55kg. He lifted a clean and jerk of 148kg, higher than his record in the previous Games by 6kg. With 268kg in the total lift, he also broke his own Games record of 264kg set in the Games 2019. This achievement helped the Vietnamese athlete win a convincing gold medal.

Khổng Mỹ Phượng also broke the previous record set by another Vietnamese weightlifter Vương Thị Huyền in the snatch with 80kg in the women’s 45kg.