Data Analysis Helps Vietnamese Swimming Boost Competitive Performance

In recent years, Vietnamese swimming has seen increased investment in measurement equipment and video analysis software. Clubs from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City are equipping themselves with overhead cameras, sensors placed on swimsuits, and software that computes metrics such as stroke rate, distance per stroke (DPS), and underwater time after each push-off. These tools are not only an international trend but have become a key factor in unlocking the potential of young athletes. A typical example is Nguyễn Huy Hoàng, a young national team swimmer, who used weekly training data to adjust his strategy in the 200m freestyle. According to coach Trần Minh Đức, before analysis Nguyễn Huy Hoàng maintained a stroke rate of about 38-40 cycles per minute with a DPS of around 1.8m. After reviewing video and underwater metrics, the coaching staff lowered the stroke rate to 36-37 cycles per minute while increasing DPS to 1.95m, saving energy and maintaining better end‑speed. The result was a time of 1:48.35 at the 2026 SEA Games, an improvement of 0.8 seconds over his previous personal best and a rise into the top 20 in Asia. It is not just the individual; the entire women’s national team is also benefiting from this trend. Võ Thái Nguyên, one of the leaders of the women’s squad, said they have built a combined database from domestic and international competitions from 2026 to the present. The database includes reaction time off the block, underwater time per lap, and estimated oxygen consumption via heart‑rate sensors. Analysis showed that swimmers who start too hard in the first 15m often suffer a sharp drop in power after 100m, hurting their finish. With this insight, coaches adjusted the start strategy: reducing initial push‑off force by 5% and focusing on maintaining a more even speed across the lap. At schools and youth training centres, data analysis is also spreading. The Hanoi Swimming Training Centre has partnered with a local tech startup to develop a mobile application for coaches. The app lets coaches input times from a stopwatch and automatically calculates metrics such as average speed, standard deviation between laps, and weekly trends. Coach Lê Thị Mai reported that after three months of use, the improvement rate for athletes under 15 rose from 12% to 22%, and the number of athletes meeting the national youth championship standard doubled. However, experts warn that data cannot replace the coach’s intuition and the athlete’s feel. Professor Phạm Hải Đăng of the Hanoi Institute of Sports Science stresses that over‑reliance on numbers may lead to neglecting immeasurable factors such as fighting spirit, adaptability to pressure, or internal health status. He proposes a "parallel" model: use data to identify trends and weaknesses while keeping regular meetings to listen to athlete feedback. Another challenge is the consistency of data collection across different venues. Since not all pools in Vietnam have synchronized systems, comparing data from domestic competitions can be difficult. To address this, the Vietnam Swimming Federation is developing a national measurement standard in which metrics such as underwater time and stroke rate will be measured with standardized equipment and uploaded to a central cloud platform. The standard is slated to take effect starting at the 2026 National Championships. Looking ahead, the use of data in swimming will not stop at time improvement. Analysts predict that in the next five years, combining physiological data (e.g., lactate levels, heart‑rate variability) with technical data will enable the creation of personalized daily training plans. This could help reduce overuse injuries, especially shoulder pain in freestyle and knee pain in breaststroke. In short, the application of data analysis is changing how coaches, athletes, and even sports administrators view swimming in Vietnam. Although many obstacles remain, with sustained investment in technology and human‑resource development, Vietnam can hope for breakthroughs not only at the SEA Games but also on the international stage such as the World Cup and the Olympic Games.