IOC code VIE | Competitors 23 in 10 sports | |
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Website www.voc.org.vn (Vietnamese) (English) MedalsRanked 48th GoldSilverBronzeTotal1102 | ||
Vietnam competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's ninth appearance at the Olympics, with the exception of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, because of its partial support to the Soviet boycott.
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The Vietnam Olympic Committee (VOC) fielded a squad of 23 athletes, 9 men and 14 women, to compete in 10 sports at the Games. It was the nation's largest delegation sent to the Olympics in a non-boycotting edition, and the second-largest overall in history, beating the record of 18 athletes who attended the London Games in 2012. This was also the youngest delegation in Vietnam's Olympic history, with about half under the age of 25. For the second time in history, the Vietnamese team featured more female athletes than males.
Eight athletes on the Vietnamese roster previously competed in London, with the rest of the field making their Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro. Among the nation's athletes were pistol shooter and London 2012 fourth-place finalist Hoàng Xuân Vinh, world-ranked swimmer and 2014 Youth Olympic champion Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên, weightlifter Trần Lê Quốc Toàn, and sabre fencer and two-time Southeast Asian Games titleholder Vũ Thành An, who was selected by the committee to carry the Vietnamese flag at the opening ceremony.
Vietnam left Rio de Janeiro with two medals, signifying its most successful Olympic showing at a single edition and also achieving the medal target set by VOC. Hoàng Xuân Vinh claimed his nation's first ever gold medal in the men's 10 m air pistol on the opening day of the Games, and then followed it up with a silver in the 50 m pistol four days later, emerging himself as the most decorated Vietnamese athlete in history.
Athletics
Vietnamese achieved three qualifying standards in the athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):
Badminton
Vietnam qualified two badminton players for each of the following events into the Olympic tournament. Two-time Olympian Nguyễn Tiến Minh and Vũ Thị Trang were selected among the top 34 individual shuttlers each in the men's and women's singles based on the BWF World Rankings as of 5 May 2016.
Fencing
Vietnam entered four fencers into the Olympic competition. Vũ Thành An, Nguyễn Thị Như Hoa, and Nguyễn Thị Lệ Dung had claimed their Olympic spots with a top finish at the Asian Zonal Qualifier in Wuxi, China. Meanwhile, Đỗ Thị Anh received a spare berth freed up by New Zealand's Yuan Ping, who was ruled ineligible to compete because she played under the Chinese jersey. Anh, as the next highest-ranked fencer not yet qualified, was selected to replace her in the foil event.
Artistic
Vietnam entered two artistic gymnasts into the Olympic competition. London 2012 Olympian Phạm Phước Hưng and Phan Thị Hà Thanh had claimed their Olympic spots each in the men's and women's apparatus and all-around events, respectively, at the Olympic Test Event in Rio de Janeiro.
Judo
Vietnam qualified one judoka for the women's extra-lightweight category (48 kg) at the Games. Văn Ngọc Tú earned a continental quota spot from the Asian region, as the highest-ranked Vietnamese judoka outside of direct qualifying position in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016.
Rowing
Vietnam has qualified one boat each in the women's lightweight double sculls for the Olympics at the 2016 Asia & Oceania Continental Qualification Regatta in Chungju, South Korea.
Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage
Shooting
Vietnamese shooters achieved quota places for two events by virtue of their best finishes at the 2014 ISSF World Shooting Championships, the 2015 ISSF World Cup series, and Asian Championships, as long as they obtained a minimum qualifying score (MQS) by March 31, 2016.
Hoàng Xuân Vinh became the first Vietnamese athlete to win a gold medal at the Summer Olympics, beating Brazil's Felipe Almeida Wu in the final round of the men's 10 m air pistol with a score of 202.5, which also set an Olympic record based on the new ISSF rule changed at the start of 2013. He also added a silver to his Olympic treasury in the men's 50 m pistol, making him the first Vietnamese athlete to earn multiple Olympic medals.
Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify for the next round; q = Qualify for the bronze medal (shotgun)
Swimming
Vietnamese swimmers achieved qualifying standards in four events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and potentially 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)):
Weightlifting
Vietnamese weightlifters qualified three men's quota places for the Rio Olympics based on their combined team standing by points at the 2014 and 2015 IWF World Championships. A single women's Olympic spot had been added to the Vietnamese roster by virtue of a top six national finish at the 2016 Asian Championships. The team must allocate these places to individual athletes by June 20, 2016.
Wrestling
Vietnam qualified two wrestlers for each of the following weight classes into the Olympic competition, as a result of their semifinal triumphs at the 2016 Asian Qualification Tournament.
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