At SEA Games 33, 21-year-old Indonesian athlete Martina Ayu Pratiwi emerged as the most successful, securing a total of 7 medals across seven events. Her haul included 5 gold medals in women's individual triathlon, women's aquathlon relay, mixed aquathlon relay, women's duathlon relay, and mixed duathlon relay. Martina also earned two silver medals in the women's triathlon relay and mixed triathlon relay.

Another athlete who claimed 5 gold medals was Singapore's Letitia Sim, achieving this feat across all five swimming events she entered. At 22, Sim became the first swimmer in history to complete a "hat-trick" of gold medals in women's breaststroke events. She won gold in the 50m, 100m, and 200m breaststroke, setting a SEA Games record in the 200m breaststroke final with a time of 2 minutes 27,37 seconds. Earlier, Sim had triumphed in the 50m breaststroke with a Games record of 31,03 seconds, and also won the 100m breaststroke. Additionally, she secured a gold medal in the 200m individual medley, setting a national record of 2 minutes 13,42 seconds.

With the absence of Olympic gymnastics champion Carlos Yulo, Singaporean swimmer Quah Zheng Wen readily claimed the title of most successful male athlete at SEA Games 33, earning 4 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze medals. The 29-year-old swimmer showcased his class by winning the 100m butterfly, 200m backstroke, and two relay events: the men's 4x100m freestyle and men's 4x100m medley. He also became the most successful male athlete in the history of the Games, accumulating a total of 58 medals, including 36 gold.

Following Zheng Wen, host nation athlete Kamonchanok Kwanmuang also excelled in swimming, securing 4 gold, 2 silver, and 3 bronze medals. Kamonchanok's 4 gold medals came from the 200m butterfly, 400m individual medley, 4x200m freestyle relay, and the 10km marathon swim. At 20 years old, Kamonchanok has ample opportunities to further improve her performance.

Among the athletes who won 4 gold medals, Vietnam was represented by shooter Trinh Thu Vinh. The 25-year-old female shooter dominated the 10m and 25m pistol individual and women's team events. Additionally, she secured one silver medal in the 10m air pistol mixed doubles with Pham Quang Huy. She also broke three Games records and achieved scores comparable to Olympic medal-contending positions.

Among the athletes who secured 3 gold medals at SEA Games 33, Kayla Sanchez stood out, also winning 5 silver medals. The 24-year-old swimmer previously competed for Canada, earning two team Olympic medals at Tokyo. This SEA Games marked Sanchez's debut representing the Philippines. She was the most successful Filipino athlete at this year's Games, receiving a 20,000 USD prize.

In athletics, no athlete won more than three gold medals this Games. Most notably, host nation runner Puripol Boonson achieved a clean sweep of gold medals in the 100m, 200m, and men's 4x100m relay events. The 19-year-old athlete also became the first Southeast Asian runner to complete the 100m distance in under 10 seconds, specifically 9,94 seconds. In the men's 200m final, he also broke the Games record with a time of 20,07 seconds, a performance equivalent to the sixth-highest in the 2024 Olympic final.

Vietnam also had athletes who won 3 gold medals, including Nguyen Huy Hoang (swimming), Nguyen Thi Ngoc (athletics), and Nguyen Thi Huong (canoeing). Similarly, veteran athlete Nguyen Thi Oanh continued to draw attention with 3 gold medals in the 5,000m, 10,000m, and 3,000m steeplechase events. She also equaled the SEA Games athletics record of 15 gold medals held by Jennifer Tin Lay (Myanmar) and Elma Muros (Philippines).

Table tennis also saw two stars each claim 3 gold medals: Suthasini Sawettabut (Thailand) and Izaac Quek (Singapore). At just 19 years old, Quek was unrivaled in the men's singles, men's doubles, and men's team events. However, Quek's world ranking of 139 indicates that Southeast Asian table tennis still has a significant gap compared to continental and global standards.

While Nguyen Thi Oanh excelled in long-distance races, Nguyen Thi Ngoc made her mark in middle-distance running, securing three gold medals from the 400m, women's 4x400m relay, and mixed 4x400m relay events. She was also the last Vietnamese athletics athlete to compete at SEA Games 33, clinching the women's 4x400m relay gold with a strong sprint finish.

Duc Dong - Hieu Luong - Xuan Binh