With this result, Phuoc not only secured a gold medal but also broke the Vietnamese national record as well as exceeding the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s B Criterion of 54.19 seconds. He is also eligible to participate in the World Swimming Championships to be held in China in July, together with his team-mates Vo Thai Nguyen and Pham Thanh Nguyen.
This is considered an unexpected success and even a 'miracle' in Vietnamese sport, which is lacking in young talent.
The 18-year-old swimmer has a lot of interesting nicknames such as 'My Khe Otter' or 'Han River Superman' since he started to join national tournaments in 2008. At that time, the 1.78m tall boy with a 1m93 arm length was seen as a very promising young swimmer.
Phuoc's house is about 200m from the My Khe beach in the central city of Da Nang and he was very familiar with ocean waves when he was just a little boy. However, it was only in 2004 that Hoang Quy Phuoc began his career as a professional swimmer when he was discovered at a primary school swimming contest by coach Phan Van Toai, Head of the Swimming Department of the Da Nang Sports Training Centre.
'Diligent, hard working and very patient' as remarked upon by coaches, Phuoc quickly made great progress in his swimming career. He was selected for the national youth swimming team in May 2006 and only one year later he became a member of the national team. Phuoc won two golds, three silver and two bronze medals at the Southeast Asian Youth Age Group Championships. At the Southeast Asian Clubs Championships, he secured eight golds. At the national swimming and diving championship in 2008, Phuoc became the youngest swimmer ever to break a national record after surpassing a number of senior athletes.
Constantly improving his skills and experience, Phuoc has gradually proved to be a great hope for Vietnamese swimming. At the 6th National Sports Games in 2010, Phuoc bagged nine gold medals (six individual golds), broke nine national records in the 25m pool, and then won 13 gold medals together with 13 national records in the 50m pool. 'Although still young, Phuoc has shown a great determination in competitions. If he can maintain it, Hoang Quy Phuoc is very likely to become a great new swimmer for Vietnam', said Dinh Viet Hung, General Secretary of the Vietnamese Aquatic Sports Association.
Phuoc's efforts have paid off with a precious berth at the 2012 London Olympic Games. From My Khe to London, the young swimmer has come a very long way and is still looking towards a new level in the future.
