Phuoc controlled the race from the start, taking the lead in the first 50 metres, but was surpassed by Glenn Victor Susanto from Indonesia on the return lap. However, Phuoc pushed hard and reached the wall first in the final metre of the race, beating his Indonesian rival by one tenth of a second.
The Vietnamese swimmer won the bronze in the men’s 50m butterfly the day before, behind Susanto and Singaporean Joseph Isaac Schooling at the finish line.
Phuoc was selected for the national youth swimming team in May 2006 and became a member of the national team only one year later. At the 2009 Games in Laos, he took home a bronze in the men’s 100m butterfly event.
The 18-year-old from Da Nang province is the first Vietnamese swimmer to secure a coveted berth at the 2012 London Olympic Games after he won the men’s 100m butterfly in 53.56 seconds at the 2011 Malaysia Open Swimming Tournament last May.
