Despite being fastest in her heat, Vietnamese swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien was still eliminated from the women’s 200m backstroke event at the London Olympic as she just finished 26 out of 37 swimmers at the second competition today.

Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Anh Vien swims during the women's 400m individual medley heats at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre Photo: Reuters

The 16-year-old defeated four rivals from Colombia, South Korea, Uzbekistan, and Hungary in her No. 1 heat by posting a time of 2’13’’35, a better performance than the 2’13’’84 at the Southeast Asian championships that earned her a ticket to London.

However, the stunning performance could not help her qualify into the semifinals when she stood more than 5 seconds behind the event winner from the US who clocked 2’07’’54.

Vien has greatly improved her skills and techniques after a three-month training trip in the US.

During the trip, Vien occasionally clocked less than 2'12''00, which her coach Dang Anh Tuan said has paved the way for her to do better.

“I hope Vien can achieve less than 2'10, which will enlist her as one of the best Asian swimmers at the 200m backstroke event,” the coach told sporting website olympic2012.vn.

Source: Tuoi Tre News