The hosts broke the record of 194 golds set by Indonesia at the 1997 SEA Games in Jakarta. The gold medals have not only rocketed Vietnam to the top spot but also reflected their outstanding progress.  Vietnam’s athletics and swimming teams hauled in important medals at SEA Games 31 with 33 golds, 22 of which in athletics.  Vietnamese athletes also had impressive performances in other sports, like shooting with seven golds; rhythmic gymnastics, five golds; weightlifting, three golds and six records; fencing, five golds; and canoeing and rowing, each with eight golds; among others.  Vietnam’s martial arts teams also made breakthroughs with 10 golds in wushu, nine others in judo and taekwondo each, seven in karate and kurash each, six in pencak silat and vovinam each, five in kickboxing and muay each, and two in jujitsu. Vietnam’s successes in this Games have opened up a new hope for the country in other tournaments. However, the country should invest more to improve the capacity of its athletes to compete in bigger events./.