Vietnam’s young swimming talent Nguyen Huy Hoang delivered a wonderful performance to win a gold medal at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Argentina on Friday.

The 18-year-old won the men’s 800m freestyle fastest heat in 7:50.20, outplaying seven other competitors.

The Japanese runner-up Yoshida Keisuke was 3.65 seconds slower than Hoang and Marco De Tullio from Italy clocked 7:55.81 to take home the bronze medal.

This performance also broke Vietnam’s national record of 7:54.32 that Hoang set at the 2018 Asian Games (Asiad) in August.

At the 2018 Asiad, Hoang won a surprising silver medal in the men’s 1,500m freestyle in 15:01.63, setting a new height for Vietnam’s swimming at the top continental sporting event.

Earlier, Hoang broke his own national record in a time of 3:48.85, even though he only finished fourth in the men’s 400m freestyle final of the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics.

The impressive performance of Hoang at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics proved that he managed to follow in the footsteps of his senior teammate Nguyen Thi Anh Vien, who also struck gold for Vietnam’s swimming at the Youth Olympics.

At the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, Vien made a big surprise when winning the gold medal in the women's 200m individual medley in 2:12.66, which broke the event’s record.

With Hoang’s gold medal, the Vietnamese sports delegation pocketed a total of two gold medals and one silver medal at the competition ongoing in Argentina as of Friday’s morning.

Previously, weightlifter Ngo Son Dinh won the men's 56kg category’s gold medal, and his teammate Nguyen Thi Thu Trang won the silver in the women's 44kg event.

The 2018 Summer Youth Olympics is hosted by Buenos Aires, Argentina from October 6 to 18, 2018. The Vietnamese sports delegation sent 12 athletes.

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