by Ng Wei Loon
YOUNG TALENT
JOSHUA LEE LEAM YOONG
Age: 13 years
Height: 1.61m
Weight: 49kg
School: SMK Seri Bintang Selatan (Form One)
Idols: Daniel Bego (Malaysia), Alexander Popov (Russia), Michael Phelps (United States)
Favourite Stroke: Butterfly
Personal Best: 50m butterfly (28.15), 100m butterfly (1:02.81), 200m butterfly (2:27.47)
Favourite Pastime: Reading and music
Ambition: Aeronautics
YOUNG talent Joshua Lee Leam Yoong made a smooth transition from artistic gymnastics to diving when he was just nine years old.
“I was suffering from asthma. And I found that working out at the pool was a better way to exercise,” said Joshua, a former SK Taman Midah 1 pupil.
After finishing ninth in the boys' 1m platform at the Malaysia Games (Sukma) held at Seremban, Negri Sembilan in 2004, he quit diving in mid-2005 because he was left without a coach after his mentor Huang Zhi Rong returned to China.
Favourite stroke: Joshua showing his class in the butterfly.
“Then, former Kuala Lumpur Ama-teur Swimming Association (PRAKL) president Alex Kwan advised him to take up swimming instead,” said Joshua's father Lee Kum Siak, 39, a sales director.
And the 13-year-old SMK Seri Bintang Selatan student proved his impeccable adaptation quality yet again when he switched from diving to swimming two years ago.
In such a short period after the recent move to swimming, the up and coming Ikan Bilis Swimming Club (IBSC) trainee has been making big waves winning honours at the pool like duck to water.
Last year, Joshua began the season creating splashes at the Malaysia Schools Sports Council Kuala Lumpur (MSSMKL) Swimming Champion-ships.
At the meet, he won five gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 200m free-style, 50m backstroke, 50m breaststroke) and four silver (100m backstroke, 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly, 100m breaststroke) medals in the boys' Under-12 category.
“Initially, I was surprised with my own ability in achieving outstanding results. From there, former Kuala Lumpur chief coach Shazali Salleh prepared me for bigger challenges,” said Joshua.
He went on to capture two gold (50m freestyle, 50m butterfly) and four silver (100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 100m backstroke) medals at the Malaysia Schools Sports Council (MSSM) meet.
Winning honours: Joshua claimed the MSSMKL Under-15 sportsboy award this year.
Kum Siak said Shazali spotted Joshua's potential to make an impact in the butterfly because of his natural momentum for the stroke to propel forward.
This year, he broke the boys' Group Three 50m butterfly and 100m butterfly records twice and three times respectively over the three legs of Milo-SportExcel Swimming Championships.
Currently, Joshua is training under the tutelage of IBSC coach Kamaruddin Mustafa up to six times a week.
He covers between 3,000m and 5,000m in each of the two-hour training session.
“As a child, he has been very active. Swimming is a good way for him to develop his physical condition. Besides attending school and training sessions, he has a hectic daily routine including tuition classes. The tight schedule is a good form of character building to help him to focus and prioritise on his goals. We ensure he gets adequate rest and we feed him with extra supplements,” said Joshua's mother Chong Mei Leen, 40, a housewife.
Recently , he was awarded as the MSSMKL Under-15 sportsboy beating elder budding athletes in his age group.
“Although I won only one gold medal at the MSSMKL meet this year, the selectors voted me because I broke the meet record in the 50m backstroke with a new time of 32.96s. I am sure that my teammate (Ian James Barr) will threaten to break the mark next year,” said Joshua, who is eyeing to vie for a berth to feature at the ASEAN Schools Swimming Championships next year.
Joshua added that his peers such as Cavan Chow, Adam Lim and Barr are providing competition to push him to improve.
“My aim is do well in both studies and swimming. Hopefully, I will earn a university scholarship to pursue my dreams in the future.”
ACHIEVEMENTS
2002
·MSSMKL Artistic Gymnastics boys' Under-12 overall individual silver medal
2003
·MSSMKL Artistic Gymnastics boys' Under-12 overall individual gold medal
2004
·Sukma boys' 1m platform ninth place
2005
·MSSM boys' Under-12 1m platform silver medal
2006
·MSSMKL boys' Under-12 five gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 50m breaststroke) and four silver (100m backstroke, 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly, 100m breaststroke) medals
·MSSKL Champion Athlete Award
·MSSM boys' Under-12 two gold (50m freestyle, 50m butterfly) and four silver (100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 100m backstroke) medals
·PRAKL boys' Group Three four silver (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 50m butterfly) and three bronze (200m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 200m individual medley) medals
·Kuala Lumpur Development Circuit boys' Under-15 five silver (50m backstroke, 100m backstroke, 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly, 200m individual medley) and one bronze (50m freestyle) medals
·Kuala Lumpur Core Sports boys' Group Three two gold (50m backstroke, 100m butterfly), two silver (50m freestyle, 50m butterfly) and one bronze (50m freestyle) medals
·National Core Sports boys' Group Three four gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly) and one silver (50m backstroke) medals
·SK Taman Midah 1 Sportsboy Award
2007
·MSSMKL boys' Under-15 one gold (50m backstroke), five silver (100m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 50m butterfly, 200m individual medley) and two bronze (50m freestyle, 100m butterfly) medals
·MSSMKL boys' Under-15 Best Swimmer
·MSSMKL Under-15 Sportsboy Award
·PRAKL boys' Group Three seven gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley) and one silver (50m backstroke) medals
·National Age-Group boys' Group Three six gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly) and three silver (100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 200m butterfly) medals
·Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur Games one silver (200m freestyle) and four bronze (50m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly) medals
·SEA Age-Group boys' Group Three two silver (50m freestyle, 50m butterfly) and one bronze (100m butterfly) medals
·Milo-SportExcel boys' Group Three first circuit boys' Group Three four gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly) and two silver (50m backstroke, 100m backstroke) medals
·Milo-SportExcel boys' Group Three second circuit five gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly, 50m breaststroke) and two silver (50m backstroke, 100m backstroke) medals
·Milo-SportExcel boys' Group Three third circuit five gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 50m breaststroke, 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly) and one silver (100m backstroke) medals
·Milo-SportExcel boys' Group Three Best Swimmer
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