Rising star Nguyen Thi Anh Vien made history as the first Vietnamese swimmer to take home a World Cup medal after her competition on the opening day of the FINA/Airweave Swimming World Cup 2015 in Russia on Tuesday.

FINA, or the International Swimming Federation, is the international governing body of swimming, diving, water polo, synchronized swimming and open water swimming.

The 19-year-old swimmer won the women’s 200m individual medley bronze medal by rounding out the podium in 2:12.33 at the Olimpiysky Swimming Pool in Moscow.

Hungary’s Hosszu Katinka took home the gold medal, clocking 2:10.68, whereas her compatriot Jakobos Zsuzsanna snatched the silver at 2:12.15.

The Vietnamese swimmer also smashed Vietnam’s national record of 2:12.66 set by herself at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in China.

Vien had the last laugh with the World Cup bronze medal after her unsuccessful journey at the 16th FINA World Championships 2015, running from July 24 to August 9, in the Russian city of Kazan.

The women's 200m individual medley competition. Video: FINA

The 2015 edition of the FINA/Airweave Swimming World Cup takes place in Moscow on August 11-12 with the presence of many stars aiming at shining in this prestigious 50m-pool circuit, according to the FINA’s website.

The event sees around 250 swimmers compete in 32 events.

The FINA/Airweave Swimming World Cup 2015 comprises eight legs distributed on three clusters, with eight different events held separately in Moscow, Paris-Chartres, Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo, Doha and Dubai.

The total cash prize for the Swimming World Cup is nearly US$2 million, according to FINA.

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