DIVING: Lomas Gathering Momentum For London

BRYAN Nickson Lomas is not far off achieving a 530-point mark in the 10-metre platform individual which will be enough to win an Olympic medal in London.

Bryan Nickson Lomas

The 22-year-old is confident of doing it soon following several breakthrough performances of late.

Lomas breached the 500-point mark for the first time to retain his 10m platform gold medal at last November's Sea Games and last month, executed one of the most difficult dives in the sport at the World Cup in London.

DIVING: Duo Prepared To Sacrifice For Medal Shot

BRYAN Nickson Lomas and Pandelela Rinong may each drop one event in pursuit of a medal at the London Olympics Games in July.

The divers have each qualified for three Olympic disciplines but it could be too taxing for them to concentrate on all of them.

Bryan has earned quota spots in the 3-metre springboard and synchro (with Huang Qiang); and 10m platform individual.

As for Pandelela, the Sarawakian is in the 10m platform individual and synchro (with Leong Mun Yee); and 3m springboard synchro (with Cheong Jun Hoong).

Bryan admitted that it would be too tough for him to compete in three events.

"I may drop one event, maybe the springboard individual, as medal chances in this discipline are slim," said Bryan.

Pandelela, however, may have no choice but to feature in all three events as her teammates are not good enough.

"I need to weigh my priorities before making a decision. Personally, I would love to compete in all three disciplines, but if I do, I may not be able to focus," said Pandelela.

Malaysia will be represented by eight divers in 10 events in London but there could be an addition if Ooi Tze Liang gets the nod from Fina, the world body for aquatics, for the men's springboard individual.

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Bryan Wants To Compete In Three Events

KUALA LUMPUR: Diver Bryan Nickson Lomas will achieve what most athletes can only dream of doing – compete in two events at an Olympic Games.

But he is still not satisfied and yearns to earn a third spot at the London Games next year even if it means having to defer his university studies to realise his goal.

Bryan is hoping to qualify for the Olympics men’s 3m springboard synchro with partner Yeoh Ken Nee at the Diving World Cup in London next February.

The 21-year-old Sarawakian made the cut for the Olympics first in the 3m springboard individual at the World Championships in Shanghai in July.

He then went on to qualify for the 10m platform individual at the Asia Diving Cup in Kuala Lumpur in September.

He is the only one, amongst the handful of Malaysian athletes who have qualified for the Olympics, who will see action in two disciplines but Bryan wants more.

“This is the first time I will be competing in two events at the Olympics.

“But it would be even better if I can qualify for the men’s springboard synchro as well,” said Bryan.

“That’s my target next year with Ken Nee. In fact, I will have to defer two semesters of my course because of the preparations leading up to the Olympics.

”I not only have to double up my efforts for the individual disciplines but also focus on the synchro.

“Only eight pairs get to compete at the Olympics and we hope to pull it off at the World Cup.

”Three pairs have already qualified from the World Championships and the remaining spots will be decided at the World Cup.

“Malaysia have never qualified for the synchro before this but we have a realistic chance judging from our performances at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games last year,” said Bryan, who will be making his third Olympic appearance.

He partnered Ken Nee to a silver in the discipline at the Asian Games in Guangzhou and a bronze at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

Bryan was one of the recipients of the OCM Athletes of the Games Award yesterday for his double golden splash at the Indonesia SEA Games last month.

He defended his 10m platform individual title and partnered Ken Nee to a second gold in the men’s 3m springboard synchro.

ASUM Admit Divers Only In Race For The Lesser Medals

FOCUS ON DIVING

COMPETITION DATES: Nov 22-26
VENUE: Aoti Aquatics Centre
EVENTS
MEN: 1m springboard, 3m springboard, 10m platform, 3m springboard synchronised, 10m platform synchronised.
WOMEN: 1m springboard, 3m springboard, 10m platform, 3m springboard synchronised, 10m platform synchronised.
MEDALS AT STAKE: 10-10-10
TEAM MALAYSIA
MEN: Yeoh Ken Nee, Bryan Nickson Lomas, Ooi Tze Liang, Mohd Fakhrul.
WOMEN: Leong Mun Yee, Pandelela Rinong, Wendy Ng Yan Yee, Traisy Vivien, Cheong Jun Hoong.
COACHES: Yang Zhuliang, Lan Wei, Huang Qiang.
TEAM MANAGER: Siow Kian Wah.
MEDAL TARGET: Better the achievement in Doha.
PREVIOUS ACHIEVEMENTS: Busan 2002: 0-0-3 (Bronze: Yeoh Ken Nee – men’s 3m springboard, Yeoh Ken Nee-Rossharisham Roslan – men’s 3m springboard synchronised, Leong Mun Yee-Farah Begum Abdullah – women’s 3m springboard synchronised).
DOHA 2006: 0-1-3 (Silver: Yeoh Ken Nee- Rossharisham Roslan – men’s 3m springboard synchronised; Bronze: Elizabeth Jimie – women’s 1m springboard, Leong Mun Yee – women’s 3m springboard, Leong Mun Yee-Elizabeth Jimie – women’s 3m springboard synchronised).

DIVING has been one of the major success stories from the Jaya ‘98 programme as the divers have evolved from just making up the numbers at the SEA Games level to become medallists at the World Championships and, just recently, the Commonwealth Games.

(The Jaya ‘98 programme was initiated to bring success in the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games.)

The Malaysian diving squad will now be heading to Guangzhou seeking to establish themselves as the second best nation behind China at the Asian Games level.

The national divers may not be facing the likes of Australia, Britain and Canada, as was the case in New Delhi, but it still won’t be a stroll in cool Guangzhou either because they will be up against not just China but also divers from Japan and South Korea.

Pandelela Rinong heads for the Asian Games fresh from her historic gold medal feat in New Delhi, where she put to shame Australian Olympic medallists Melissa Wu and Alexandra Croak with a come-from-behind win in the 10m platform individual final.

The Sarawakian youngster also bagged a silver with Leong Mun Yee in the 10m platform synchronised event and stands a good chance of delivering a double in her Asiad debut.

Yeoh Ken Nee and Bryan Nickson will be hoping to do likewise in the men’s competition, where they will be contending in the springboard and platform disciplines respectively. Ken Nee will also be hoping to defend the silver he won with Rossharisham Roslan in the 3m springboard synchronised event in Doha four years ago. But this time he will be partnering Bryan.

In Doha, Malaysia also bagged three bronze medals from the girls’ competition and the current squad should be aiming for a clutch of silvers.

That will still be an achievement indeed if the divers can pull it off, taking into account the high level of opposition in Guangzhou.

Seven out of China’s 35 Olympic champions set to grace the Asian Games are in the diving squad, who bagged seven of the eight gold medals at stake at the Beijing Olympics two years ago.

Diving star Guo Jinjing is the only one missing from the squad, who also clinched seven gold medals at the World Championships in Rome last year.

Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (Asum) secretary Edwin Chong admitted that “Malaysia are in the race for the lesser medals when it comes to diving at the Asian Games in Guangzhou”.

“The fact that the Chinese divers are competing on homeground makes it even harder as no judge will dare to mark them down,” claimed Edwin.

“The only way for another diver to win is if the Chinese opponent makes a big mistake.

“The problem is they are very consistent and hardly make mistakes as it could be the end of their hopes of competing at the next Olympics.

“As for our top divers, like Pandelela, Mun Yee, Bryan and Ken Nee, the best we can hope for is for them to split the two Chinese divers in the individual to earn a silver.

“It will be a great achievement and it will give us plenty to look forward to at the next Olympics in London in two years’ time.

“We took home four medals in Doha and we are optimistic of improving on the haul.

“Our divers have come a long way. We could not even fight for a bronze at the SEA Games level when the National Sports Council (NSC) helped us set up the diving programme back in 1994. But we have since dominated the sport at the regional level and taken it higher.

“The improvement is there for everyone to see compared to when we won our first diving medal at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan.”

The national divers returned to China after the Commonwealth Games campaign and will head straight to Guangzhou.

Bryan Signs Off With Bronze

Bryan Nickson Lomas performs his routine in the 10m platform final at the SP Mukherjee Aquatic Complex yesterday.

THE presence of the reigning Olympic and world champions brought the best out of Bryan Nickson Lomas as the Malaysian took the 10m platform bronze at the SP Mukherjee Aquatic Complex yesterday.

England's world champion Tom Daley and Australia's Beijing Olympics gold medallist Matthew Mitcham were awesome names in the field but Bryan, who won the 3m synchro springboard bronze with Yeoh Ken Nee on Tuesday, held his own as he denied the rest of the 11-man field.In fact, silver was within reach but Bryan's final dive scored only 72.00, which allowed Mitcham to pull ahead for second place.

The Malaysian, however, can take pride in the fact that his fifth dive, which scored 98.05, was the highest of the night.

"Daley and Mitcham are simply too good but I am proud to have won this medal, especially as this was a really tough field," said Bryan, 20.Bryan scored a total 487.15 for the bronze while Daley was the runaway winner with 538.35. Mitcham scored 509.15 for the silver. Malaysia's other representative Ooi Tze Liang finished seventh with 411.15.

Bryan was third after his first dive but the second dive, which scored a mere 64.35, left him on the backfoot as Daley and Mitcham were consistently scoring in the high 80s.In the end, the difference between them and Bryan was their consistency but with age on his side, the sky is the limit for Bryan and he can look forward to the Asian Games next month with hope.In the women's 3m springboard, Ng Yan Yee finished eighth but for the diving squad, the pool at the SP Mukherjee Aquatic Complex proved lucky for them as they ended their campaign with one gold, one silver and two bronze.

Bryan Reaps Another Bronze Among World-Class Rivals

HIS preparations in the lead-up to the Delhi Games were not all smooth but Bryan Nickson Lomas (pic) can walk tall after claiming the bronze medal in the 10m platform men’s individual event at the Dr S.P. Mukherjee Sports Complex last night.

The bronze was a high quality medal as he finished behind two divers regarded as the best in the high board discipline, reigning world champion Tom Daley of England and reigning Olympic champion Matthew Mitcham of Australia.

The 16-year-old Daley produced an extraordinary performance on his last dive to garner 94.05 to pip Mitcham to clinch his first Commonwealth Games platform gold medal.

Daley finished on 538.35 and Mitcham chalked up 509.15.

The 20-year-old Bryan leapt to bronze medal position after the first two jumps and held on to finish the six-dive routine on 487.15.

He even earned a 98.05 for his fifth dive, which turned out to be the highest ever awarded for the 10m platform discipline.

It was the second medal for Bryan after a bronze medal winning effort too in the 3m springboard synchronised event on Tuesday with Yeoh Ken Nee.

Malaysia will thus leave the diving arena with the distinction of having at least one medal-winning effort in all four days of competition.

The team also achieved a best-ever meal haul of 1-1-2 in Commonwealth Games diving. Malaysia went on the medal board for the first time at the 2006 Melbourne Games with two silvers.

Pandelela Rinong clinched a historic gold medal for Malaysia in the women’s 10m platform and partnered Leong Mun Yee for silver in the 10m platform synchronised event.

And Bryan, who only qualified sixth best for the final, heaved a sigh of relief after accomplishing his target to get a first individual medal at the Commonwealth Games.

“I was not feeling good coming here as I injured my calf muscles during training in China,” he said.

“I was getting better but I was not so confident over whether I can take the strain even though I raised my difficulties. I’m happy to take bronze as the field is like in the world championships.”
At the Melbourne Games, the Sarawakian won silver with James Sandayud in the 10m synchronised event.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Wendy Ng finished eighth in the 3m springboard women’s final on 290.15.

Pandelela On Cloud Nine After 10m Platform Gold

Malaysia's Pandelela Pamg competes in the women's 10m platform event during the Commonwealth Games at the Dr. S.P. Mukherjee Aquatics Center in New Delhi, India, yesterday.

NEW DELHI Oct 11 — Diver Pandelela Rinong clinched Malaysia”s seventh gold medal of the Commonwealth Games with a sizzling performance in the women”s 10m Platform diving at the Dr S.P. Mukherjee Aquatic Complex here today.

The 17-year-old Sarawakian who had won a silver medal in women”s 10m synchronized diving with Leong Mun Yee yesterday, amassed 371.05 points for the gold.

Her compatriot Traisy Vivien Tukiet, another Sarawakian lass who had won the SUKMA diving gold in Melaka from the 10m platform in June, however could only manage ninth spot with 310.55 points.

Despite the defeat, Traisy was still able to spot a smile when celebrating Pandelela”s victory with other diving officials.

Australian diver Melissa Wu collected the silver while another Aussie, Alexandra Croak took the bronze.

Meanwhile, in the men”s 3m Springboard, Yeoh Ken Nee , Bryan Nickson Lomas, and Muhammad Fakhrul Md Zain managed only a sixth, seventh and 10th place respectively from the 12 divers who competed.

Alexandre Despatie and Rueben Ross from Canada won gold and silver medal while Grant Nel of Australian won bronze.

Diving events continue tomorrow with the men”s 10m Synchro Platform, where Malaysia will be represented by Ooi Tze Liang and Abd Rashid Muhammad.

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Leong Mun Yee and Cheong Jun Hoong will compete in Women”s 1m Springboard while Bryan, Ken Nee, Muhammad Fakhrul and Ahmad Amsyar will take part in the men”s 3M Synchro Springboard. — Bernama

Commonwealth Games / Diving: Duo Shine With Silver

Pandelela Rinong (left) and Leong Mun Yee in action in the 10m synchro platform .yesterday.

LEONG Mun Yee ended a 12-year wait spanning four Commonwealth Games after she and partner Pandelela Rinong saved their best for last to clinch the 10m synchro platform silver at the Dr SPM Aquatic Complex yesterday.

It was Malaysia's first Commonwealth Games diving medal in the women's category and both divers were filled with joy, especially as they were lying fourth after three dives and in danger of being upstaged by younger teammates Cheong Jun Hoong and Traisy Vivien Tukiet, who were second.But the third dive, which Mun Yee said is their secret weapon, took them to second place behind Australia's Olympic silver medallists Melissa Wu and Alexandra Croak while Jun Hoong-Traisy finished fifth.

"We were confident that we would be able to place ourselves in the medal places as we have been working on this dive in training," said Mun Yee.

The three and a half somersault pike was so well executed that the Malaysians scored 82.56, the only dive of the evening that breached the 80-point mark.The Malaysians scored a total 328.38 points for the silver to the Australians 335.76. Australia also took the bronze through Briony Cole and Anabelle Smith.

Pandelela said errors in the earlier dives probably cost them the gold."The scoring by the judges was also a little questionable as well as the Australians seemed to get some high marks despite not doing too well in the earlier dives," said Pandelela.Still, it has been a good year for Pandelela, who won two silver at the Youth Olympics in Singapore and has now added the Commonwealth medal.

She has the 10m platform today while Mun Yee will be competing in the 1m and 3m individual springboard events.Mun Yee, partnering youngster Ng Yan Yee, didn't fare well in the 3m synchronised springboard as they finished last in the six-pair event.Gold medallists in last year's Laos Sea Games, the Malaysians could only score 260.04 points.Yeoh Ken Nee also had to bow to the emergence of younger divers as he relinquished the men's 1m springboard silver he won in Melbourne four years ago. Ken Nee finished fourth with 400.10 points.Bryan Nickson Lomas was seventh, scoring 370.80 points while Muhammad Fakhrul Md Zain finished 11th with 260.04.

A Break For Bryan

By LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: Seasoned diver Ross­harisham Roslan is out of the Commonwealth and Asian Games later this year.

And Sarawakian Bryan Nickson Lomas is set to benefit from Ross­harisham’s absence as the replacement diver for his event.

Rossharisham partnered Ken Nee to deliver an Asiad silver medal in the men’s 3m springboard synchronised final in Doha four years ago and he also made the World Championships final in Rome last year.

However, Rossharisham was forced to skip the Laos SEA Games last December as he had to undergo surgery on his left knee.

Despite having returned to training recently, coach Yang Zhuliang is not convinced with his form and does not want to risk including him in the squad for the two Games.

The Commonwealth Games will be held in New Delhi in October and the Asiad in Guangzhou, China, in November.

This will be the second time that Rossharisham will be missing the Commonwealth Games.
He was in the squad as Ken Nee’s partner for the Melbourne Games in 2006 but had to watch from the stands after his team-mate came down with fever the day after bagging silver in the 1m springboard competition.

Ken Nee subsequently pulled out from the 3m springboard and synchronised competitions.
Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (Asum) secretary Edwin Chong confirmed yesterday that Rossharisham was not in the list of entries to be submitted to the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) for both the Games.

“We paired Bryan with Ken Nee at the Asian championships in China just before the Laos SEA Games and they did well to win the silver medal. They went on to clinch the SEA Games gold medal and they have been doing well in training since,” said Edwin.

“Rossharisham is back now but he needs to recover most of his dives if he is to partner Ken Nee again. The coach feels that it will better for Ken Nee to stick with Bryan as there is not much time left.

“Bryan has also reached the same standards as Ken Nee in the springboard and we feel they have a good shot at grabbing a medal at both the Games.”

It will be taxing for Bryan and Ken Nee at both the Games as they will have to prepare for four separate events.

Bryan will have to concentrate on the 10m platform while Ken Nee is focusing on the 1m and 3m springboard individual.

The duo are currently undergoing training with other senior divers in China for the FINA World Cup to be held in Changzhou from June 2-6.

The other male divers in the squad for the biennial meet are Mohd Fakhrul and Ooi Tzer Liang while the women divers are Leong Mun Yee, Pandelela Rinong, Traisy Vivien and Wendy Ng Yan Yee.

Rich Pickings For SEA Games’ Best Athlete Daniel

PUTRAJAYA: Swimmer Daniel Bego boosted his bank account by RM29,000 after becoming the biggest recipient of the Laos SEA Games incentive awards given out by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday.

Only the SEA Games gold medallists were rewarded and Daniel topped the list with his stunning five-gold performance in Vientiane.

Previous Malaysian male swimmers had never won more than two individual gold medals in a single Games but Daniel topped the list by coming out tops in the 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle as well as in the 100m butterfly.

Grand total: Daniel Bego shows off the trophy and the mock cheque for RM29,000 Tuesday.

The 20-year-old Sarawakian also secured an additional RM4,000 for setting four new SEA Games records.
The only event in which he did not lower the Games record was in the 200m butterfly.

Daniel, who also smashed the longest existing record in the 400m freestyle and was later named Best Male Athlete of the 25th edition of the Games, said the Asian and

Commonwealth Games would be his major goals this year.

“These are the two big meets which I hope to do well in. This is the first time I have qualified on merit for the Commonwealth and Asian Games. I have my A-level examinations some time in June and I plan to step up training after that,” said Daniel, who is also hotly tipped to win the Male Olympian of the Year award for the second successive time on Saturday.

A total of RM230,000 were handed out yesterday and aquatics, which accounted for 15 out of the 40 gold medals won by the Malaysian contingent, took the biggest share of the pie with a total of RM83,000.

Woman swimmer Siow Yi Ting was the second biggest individual recipient with RM18,000 for winning three gold medals in new SEA Games record times.

Fellow woman swimmer Khoo Cai Lin completed the list for swimming with RM6,000 while divers Yeoh Ken Nee, Bryan Nickson Lomas, Pandelela Rinong, Leong Mun Yee and Wendy Ng Yan Yee collectively earned RM30,000.

The national football team, who ended a 20-year gold medal drought in Laos, received RM20,000.

Completing the list were athletics (RM32,000), karate (RM25,000), pencak silat (RM20,000), wushu (RM15,000), badminton (RM15,000), boxing (RM10,000), taekwondo (RM5,000) and archery (RM5,000).

Divers Contribute Two More Gold Medals

Sea Games: Bryan Turns On The Style With Hat-trick

Bryan Nickson Lomas performs his routine in the 10m platform at the National Sports Complex aquatics centre yesterday.

Brilliant Bryan Strikes Gold, Mun Yee Settles For Bronze

Dazzling diver: Malaysia’s Bryan Nickson Lomas (centre) posing with his gold medal after winning the men’s 10m platform final on Friday. Indonesia’s Muhammad Nasrullah (left) took the silver while the bronze went to the Philippines’ Rexel Ryan Fabriga. — AFP

SEA Games: Bryan Defends 10m Platform Gold For 3rd Time

Bryan Nickson competes in the 10m platform diving final at the 25th Southeast Asian Games.

Maiden Bryan-Ken Nee Partnership Wins A Silver In Asian Championships

Young gun: Bryan Nickson Lomas will be among the hot favourites at the Laos Sea Games.

Bryan Finishes Last in 10m Platform Final(updates with results)

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Diving / World Championships: Bryan Barely Makes Final

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Bryan Nickson

Swimming: Bryan Earns Ticket To World Grand Prix

By RAJES PAUL


KUALA LUMPUR: It is not easy to motivate oneself after going through the same routine in training for the last eight years.

But 19-year-old Bryan Nickson Lomas somehow managed to find the extra impetus to improve on his degree of difficulty at the last minute to book a place in the squad for the FINA World Diving Grand Prix in Shenzen, China, from Feb 13-15.

He was in danger of missing out on international tournaments after his failure to come up with new dives since returning home empty-handed from the World Junior Championships in Germany in September.

In a bid to keep the divers on their toes, the Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (Asum) had come out with a new ruling that athletes would only be sent for international tournaments if they could improve on their level of difficulties in their routines during training sessions.


Skip in the step: Bryan Nickson practising his routine under the watchful eyes of Chinese coach Lan Wei at the National Aquatics Centre in Bukit Jalil on Friday.

After so many futile attempts over the last four months, Bryan was given one more week to prove himself.

He finally got his act right in training this week and Asum gave him the green light to make the trip to China.

Bryan said he had lost some confidence while trying to perfect the new dive, formulated by China coach Lan Wei.

“The new dive is difficult and somehow I was not confident enough to execute it effectively. It does not take a week to improve on a dive ... it is a gradual process,” said Bryan.
“I also fell sick in between and I had to start the process of perfecting the new dive all over. But I am glad I managed to pull it off finally.”

Bryan is hoping that he would be able to execute the new dive well in his first international tournament in China.

“I am not setting any big goals in my first tournament. I will be happy if I can perform my new dive without any flaws,” he said.

After representing Malaysia in the last two Olympic Games (in Athens and Beijing), Bryan agreed that it had not been easy to be motivated to excel all the time.

“Sometimes I feel like I am at the crossroads. I have been with the national team for quite long. This is another new year and there are new goals to achieve,” he said.

Hopefully the presence of his former coach — Yang Zhuliang of China — who will return to coaching the national team at the end of this month, will re-ignite the fire in Bryan’s belly.
The other senior divers who have been given the green light for the China assignment are Pandelela Rinong, Elizabeth Jimie, Leong Mun Yee, Gracie Junita, Yeoh Ken Nee and Rossharisham Roslan.

Mun Yee’s hoping to be third time lucky in Olympics

Foot for thought: Olympic-bound divers (from left) Leong Mun Yee, Bryan Nickson Lomas, Pandelela Rinong and Elizabeth Jimie looking at some of the Power and Bata footwears after the shoes were presented to the Olympic Council of Malaysia at the OCM Muzium in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. AZMAN GHANI / The Star

PETALING JAYA: Diver Leong Mun Yee is hoping to be third time lucky in the Beijing Olympics next month.

She will be the first Malaysian diver to compete in three consecutive Olympics and will be out to win a place in the semi-finals after two unsuccessful attempts.

Individual events will consist of preliminaries, semi-finals and finals. The 18 divers with the highest scores in the preliminaries will proceed to the semi-finals.

And the top 12 ranked divers from the semi-finals will move into the final.
Malaysia first took part in the diving competition at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and Mun Yee was among the three divers, including Yeoh Ken Nee and Azheem Bahari, who saw action.
She finished 39th in the 3m springboard preliminaries.

In Athens four years later, Mun Yee qualified for the 10m platform and the 3m springboard. She was placed 21st in the 10m platform and 26th in the 3m springboard.

As the most experienced diver in the team of four bound for Beijing, the 24-year-old from Ipoh has undergone more than a month of strenuous training in Kunming, China, in a bid to earn a place in Malaysian diving history.

Besides spending more than five hours a day in the pool, Mun Yee and her team-mates also went through hill-climbing sessions to build up their stamina.

“I will draw on my experience at the two previous Olympics to help me. If I can perform consistently, I have a chance to finish in the top 18 to reach the semi-finals.

“Breaking into the final, however, will be very tough as the world’s best divers are all there,” said Mun Yee, who started out as a swimmer.

She switched to diving at the age of 10 when the Jaya ‘98 programme was launched in 1994 to prepare a team for the 1998 Commonwealth Games, which Malaysia hosted for the first time.
Malaysia did not make a big impact at the Commonwealth Games but it proved to be the springboard to future successes at the international level.

Malaysian divers have not only won medals at Asian and Commonwealth Games levels but are the dominant force in the region.

Her decision to postpone her degree studies to concentrate on earning a third Olympic appearance has paid off but it will probably be her last.

Besides Mun Yee, other Malaysian women divers making their Olympic debut are Elizabeth Jimie and Pandelela Rinong.

Bryan Nickson will return to Olympic stage again after a glorious debut in Athens four years ago.
In Athens, he was the flag-bearer for the Malaysian contingent and just missed out on the semi-finals when he finished 19th in the 10m platform.

Bryan has since gone on to become the first Malaysian diver to qualify for the final in the World Championships in Melbourne last year.

It also made him the first Malaysian to qualify for the Olympics.
Malaysia have five swimmers in the fray but the odds are heavily stacked against them making it into the semi-finals of their respective events.

Diver Nickson The Early Favourite For MSSM Sports Award

PETALING JAYA: Diver Bryan Nickson Lomas is set to be the runaway winner of the Best Sportsboy award but it will be an open race in the girls' category of the 2004 national schools (MSSM)-Milo awards, which will be presented in Seremban today.

Besides dominating the MSSM competition last year, the 15-year-old Sarawakian also became the first Malaysian world junior champion in diving.

He also did Malaysia proud, coming within a whisker of qualifying for the 18-man semi-finals of the Athens Olympics 10m platform competition.

Two other nominees for the boys' award are doubles shuttler Tan Boon Heong of Selangor and shot putter Adi Alimuddin Hussin of Terengganu

The 18-year-old Boon Heong partnered Hoon Thien How to emerge as the world junior doubles champion in Vancouver last year.

The 17-year-old Adi, who has been the MSSM champion since 2002, was a gold medallist at the Asean Schools Championships in Singapore.

There are also three nominees for the girls' award – squash player Low Wee Wern, golfer Chua Tze Jean and rhythmic gymnast Wan Siti Haniza Wan Izhar.

Penangite Wee Wern did well last year to finish as the runner-up in the Scottish Open junior competition.

Selangor's Tze Jean was the Asean schools champion. She was also the winner in the SportExcel National Junior Circuit Grand Finals and the Royal Selangor Golf Club (RSGC) ladies amateur championship.

Kuala Lumpur's Siti Haniza swept all six gold medals at stake in the MSSM meet last year.

Besides the main awards for boys and girls, the winners of other awards – most promising boy and girl, special education, special award and best teacher – will also be named today.