These are also the very first Asian gold medals of Huy Hoang’s career at the continental level.
Starting in lane 5 against strong rivals from China, Uzbekistan, Japan, and Malaysia, Huy Hoang quickly surged into the lead. During the first 100m, his opponents kept close behind, but from the 400m mark onwards, the Vietnamese swimmer steadily pulled away. He maintained both pace and distance from Uzbekistan’s Sibirtsev, who came second, in the final 100m, finishing with a time of 7 minutes 57.58 seconds—3.34 seconds ahead of Sibirtsev—to secure the gold medal.
This marks Huy Hoang’s second gold medal at this tournament, and also the first two Asian gold medals of his career. Earlier, in the men’s 1,500m freestyle, the 25-year-old Vietnamese swimmer came first with a time of 15 minutes 15.01 seconds.
Previously, Huy Hoang’s best result at the continental level was a silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games in his signature event, the men’s 1,500m freestyle. That same year, the swimmer from former Quang Binh Province (now Quang Tri) won the gold medal in the men’s 800m freestyle at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.
