Vietnam closed the 10-day competition with 87 golds, 81 silvers and 110 bronzes, trailing Thailand (233-154-108) and Indonesia (91-111-131). On the final day, Vietnam added a gold in the mixed 4×1,500m open-water swimming relay, earned by Nguyen Huy Hoang, Mai Tran Tuan Anh, Vo Thi My Tien and Nguyen Kha Nhi, while the sepak takraw team picked up two silver medals in the men’s and women’s regu events.
Including five golds from demonstration sports: mixed martial arts, audition e-sports and tug of war, Vietnam finished with a total of 92 gold medals, meeting its pre-Games target of 90 to 110.
Athletics delivered Vietnam’s strongest showing, contributing 12 gold medals, just one fewer than Thailand. Nguyen Thi Oanh led the charge with three golds in the 5,000m, 10,000m and 3,000m steeplechase. Vietnam also dominated the women’s and mixed 4x400m relays, while Bui Thi Kim Anh’s high jump and Tran Thi Loan’s long jump titles were among the biggest surprises.
In swimming, Singapore maintained its regional dominance with 19 gold medals. Vietnam followed with six golds, largely driven by male swimmers. Pham Thanh Bao swept the 100m and 200m breaststroke, Tran Hung Nguyen won the 200m individual medley, and Nguyen Huy Hoang claimed gold in the 1,500m freestyle and the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay. Nguyen Quang Thuan also secured his first SEA Games gold in the 400m individual medley.
Vietnam continued to lead in wrestling, shooting, karate and rowing. Wrestling won 10 of 12 golds, shooting took eight, karate six, and rowing four. However, several teams underperformed compared with the previous Games. Judo dropped from eight golds to one, while wushu and weightlifting also fell short of expectations. Cycling, archery and race walking failed to meet their targets.
Indonesia emerged as one of the biggest risers of SEA Games 33, exceeding its gold target by 11 medals. The country made major gains in athletics, archery, shooting, cycling, biathlon, triathlon and wushu, and offered the region’s highest athlete bonus, about 1 billion rupiah ($60,000) per gold medal.
Thailand’s 233 gold medals broke Vietnam’s previous SEA Games record of 205, set at SEA Games 31. This marked Thailand’s 14th time topping the overall standings, and its first since the 28th Games in Singapore. Dec. 14 and Dec. 19 were dubbed the hosts’ “golden days,” with 36 gold medals won on each date.
The hosts dominated Olympic sports including boxing, athletics, taekwondo, canoeing, cycling and weightlifting, while also benefiting from full athlete entry quotas in combat sports. Ju-jitsu alone delivered 14 golds, while Muay Thai added 11.
The 33rd SEA Games saw nine of the 10 participating delegations win at least one gold medal, with Timor-Leste the only exception. The competitive gap remained clear, with Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines forming the top tier.
Cambodia withdrew all athletes shortly after the opening ceremony on Dec. 10, citing security concerns mid border conflict with Thailand.
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