With her outstanding achievements in 2014, swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien has become Viet Nam’s Best Athlete of the Year with 1,077 votes, announced the award organisation board on December 31.

Swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien (Photo: VNA)

This is the second year in a row the 18-year-old swimmer has won the title. This year she brought home a bronze in the women's 400m medley at ASIAD 17 in Incheon, becoming the first swimmer of Viet Nam to win a medal at the Asian Games. The Can Tho province-born athlete was also ranked amongst the world's top 10 swimmers at this event.

In addition, Vien won a gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games in China, and nine gold, four silver and three bronze medals at the ASEAN Swimming Championships. The talented athlete also swept the national competition with 18 golds and 14 records after winning a berth in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics.

Second on the list of Athletes of the Year was shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh with 975 votes, followed by weightlifter Thach Kim Tuan with 944 votes. The voting saw the participation of 115 reporters from 50 media agencies.

Meanwhile, the Best Coach of the Year title went to weightlifting coach Huynh Huu Chi who trained weightlifter Thach Kim Tuan. Vien’s trainee, Dang Anh Tuan, came second, followed by shooter coach Nguyen Thi Nhung.

At the same time, swimmer Vo Thanh Tung from Ho Chi Minh City became the Best Para-Athlete of the Year, while his trainee Dong Quoc Cuong also won Best Coach title.