Swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang becomes the first Vietnamese athlete to book a spot at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan (Photo: VNA)

At the ongoing 18th FINA World Championships in the Republic of Korea, the 19-year-old finished the men’s 800 m freestyle in 07:52.74, meeting the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT) of 7:54.31.

However, this is not Hoang’s best time, as he won a gold medal at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Argentina with a time of 07:50.20.

At the current tournament, he also competes in the 1,500 m freestyle, which will take place on July 27. 

The Quang Binh-born athlete first triumphed in the 1,500 m freestyle at a national tournament in 2016. Afterwards, he won a gold and silver medal in the same event at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games and the 2018 Asian Games, respectively.