Tide In Cai Lin’s Favour

By LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: What appear­ed to be an im­po­ssi­ble dream at the start of the year is turning into a reachable goal for swimmer Khoo Cai Lin fo­llowing an impre­ssive outing in the Laos SEA Games.

Her remarkable effort in wiping off almost eight seconds off her own Games record in winning the 400m freestyle has earned her a place for a first appearance in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games next year.

Cai Lin, who retained the 400m freestyle title in 4:10.75 in Vientiane, not only beat the bronze medal-winning effort of 4:14.95 at the last Asiad in Doha but it was also better than the gold medal mark of 4:12.75.

Reason to smile: Khoo Cai Lin can look forward to making her debut in the Commonwealth and Asian Games next year.

Cai Lin has also qualified on merit for the New Delhi Commonwealth Games in October after bettering the fifth-place time of 4:11.74 from the 2006 Games in Melbourne.
Cai Lin stand a chance to bag an Asiad medal in Guangzhou in November if she can produce another repeat performance and that will be the goal to keep in focus.

“It’s good to have beaten the qualifying times for the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games early,” said Cai Lin, who celebrated her 21st birthday on Christmas Day.

“There is a better chance for me to win a medal at the Asiad compared to the Commonwealth Games, where the Australians are already up there. I will try to go for it but I definitely have to swim even faster next year.”

It has been quite a memorable year for Cai Lin, who not only managed to erase the last of Nurul Huda Abdullah’s long-standing record in the 200m butterfly but also completed the year on a high by grabbing one gold and three silver medals in the Laos SEA Games.

Cai Lin erased Nurul’s 20-year-old mark of 2:16.83 with a time of 2:16.11 at the Mini Olympic Games in Bukit Jalil in August and subsequently bettered the mark in taking silver in 2:14.30 in Vientiane.

She also went more than two seconds faster than her own national record in the 800m freestyle, clocking 8:45.36 to also take a silver.

“I got one gold and three silvers (another from the 4x100m medley) but it was more satisfying to better the SEA Games record in all my races,” said Cai Lin.
“I also had the best 400m swim of my life. I never expected the time to be this fast. I wanted to keep the title medal I won the last time in Korat and that just motivated me to beat the Singaporeans.”

In Asian Games swimming, no Malaysian woman has managed to make a big impact, let alone win a medal since Nurul Huda Abdullah won two silver and two bronze medals in Seoul in 1986.
But if Cai Lin shows the same hunger for glory in Guangzhou, the outcome may just surprise everyone.