THE one and only Malaysian gold medal winner in Asian Games swimming history, Alex Lim Keng Liat, who won in 1988 in Bangkok, hailed from Sandakan.
And the timber-rich town in Sabah can be proud that they have another swimmer coming up the ranks in Chui Lai Kwan, who made the only splash for Malaysia at the Guangzhou Games yesterday when she made the final at the Aoti Aquatics Centre.
The 20-year-old Lai Kwan made the 50m freestyle final with the seventh fastest time of 26.21 to follow in the footsteps of Khoo Cai Lin.
Another Sabah swimmer, Leung Chii Lin, did not make the cut as she clocked the 13th fastest time of 26.97.
Cai Lin became the first woman in 24 years since Nurul Huda Abdullah qualified for an Asian Games final en route to taking fifth place in the 400m freestyle on Monday.
Lai Kwan had a good start but was not able to follow through in the final, which was won by China’s Lee Zhe Si in 24.97.
She lowered her time to 26.08 for seventh place and it was just off her national record of 26.03 set at the Delhi Commonwealth Games last month.
Lai Kwan made history as the first Malaysian woman to qualify for a Commonwealth Games swimming final then and her performances indicated that she is on the right track to shine in the short distance freestyle disciplines at the SEA Games in Indonesia next year.
Team manager Mae Chen said that making the final was already a fine achievement for Lai Kwan, considering the level of competition in Guangzhou.
“She did not break her national record but she was only behind the Chinese, South Korean and Japanese swimmers,” she said.
“Lai Kwan finished ahead of the rest from South-East Asia and we can hope for good things to come from her in the future.”
Daniel Bego posted 25.15 to finish 11th in the men’s 50m butterfly while 15-year-old Ian James Barr continued to improve by setting a personal best of 57.94 for 12th place in the men’s 100m backstroke.
In the men’s 400m freestyle, Kevin Yeap and Kevin Lim finished 10th (4:02.67) and 21st (4:13.93) respectively.
The 15-year-old female breaststrokers, Christina Loh and Erika Kong, were placed 12th (1:13.50) and 13th (1:13.79) in the 100m event yesterday while the men’s 4x100m freestyle quartet of Kevin Lim, Kevin Yeap, Daniel and Foo Jian Beng failed to qualify for the final, clocking 3:32.69 for 11th place.
And the timber-rich town in Sabah can be proud that they have another swimmer coming up the ranks in Chui Lai Kwan, who made the only splash for Malaysia at the Guangzhou Games yesterday when she made the final at the Aoti Aquatics Centre.
The 20-year-old Lai Kwan made the 50m freestyle final with the seventh fastest time of 26.21 to follow in the footsteps of Khoo Cai Lin.
Another Sabah swimmer, Leung Chii Lin, did not make the cut as she clocked the 13th fastest time of 26.97.
Cai Lin became the first woman in 24 years since Nurul Huda Abdullah qualified for an Asian Games final en route to taking fifth place in the 400m freestyle on Monday.
Lai Kwan had a good start but was not able to follow through in the final, which was won by China’s Lee Zhe Si in 24.97.
She lowered her time to 26.08 for seventh place and it was just off her national record of 26.03 set at the Delhi Commonwealth Games last month.
Lai Kwan made history as the first Malaysian woman to qualify for a Commonwealth Games swimming final then and her performances indicated that she is on the right track to shine in the short distance freestyle disciplines at the SEA Games in Indonesia next year.
Team manager Mae Chen said that making the final was already a fine achievement for Lai Kwan, considering the level of competition in Guangzhou.
“She did not break her national record but she was only behind the Chinese, South Korean and Japanese swimmers,” she said.
“Lai Kwan finished ahead of the rest from South-East Asia and we can hope for good things to come from her in the future.”
Daniel Bego posted 25.15 to finish 11th in the men’s 50m butterfly while 15-year-old Ian James Barr continued to improve by setting a personal best of 57.94 for 12th place in the men’s 100m backstroke.
In the men’s 400m freestyle, Kevin Yeap and Kevin Lim finished 10th (4:02.67) and 21st (4:13.93) respectively.
The 15-year-old female breaststrokers, Christina Loh and Erika Kong, were placed 12th (1:13.50) and 13th (1:13.79) in the 100m event yesterday while the men’s 4x100m freestyle quartet of Kevin Lim, Kevin Yeap, Daniel and Foo Jian Beng failed to qualify for the final, clocking 3:32.69 for 11th place.
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