HE was out of the pool for three weeks recently with an arm injury but that did not stop Ian James Barr from making a big splash for Federal Territories on the second day of Sukma swimming action at Wisma Belia Swimming Complex in Bandar Indera Mahkota.
The 17-year-old smashed his own national record en route to winning the men’s 200m individual medley in 2:05.82 last night.
Ian had set the national mark of 2:06.98 at the Malaysian Open in Bukit Jalil in May and, in the process, brought down his own Games record of 2:08.09 set in Malacca two years ago.
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| Ian James Barr |
It looked like no one was going to break a Games record in the pool on the second day until Ian kicked in with an explosive finish in the last 25m of the freestyle leg to finish the race nearly eight seconds ahead of Johor’s Tia’a Faang Der.
Faang Der, winner of the 400m individual medley on Sunday, clocked 2:13.60 for the silver ahead of Selangor’s Teh Wei Pin (2:13.96).
A delighted Ian, who clenched his fists in joy after being announced as the first national record breaker at the Games, said he felt very satisfied to close his individual campaign on a high.
Ian is only restriced to swimming two individual and two relay events as he had represented the country at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games and Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010.
“I injured my left arm due to over-training last month and had to stop training for three weeks. I could only do lower body workout, so I did not expect to get a fast time,” he said.
“I’m happy to beat my personal best and have to thank my coach (Paul Birmingham) and my parents for supporting me all the way.
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| Jubilation: Lim Ching Hwang of Selangor celebrates after winning the 100m freestyle at the Bandar Indra Mahkota Aquatic yesterday. |
“This is my most memorable moment in Sukma – setting a national record despite still recovering from an injury.”
It was also a glorious moment for Penang, who celebrated their first gold medal after six years, and Selangor, whose swimmers won four out of the eight finals.
James Chen became the first Penang swimmer to capture a Sukma gold in swimming since Saw Yi Khy in Alor
Star in 2006 when he won the men’s 50m butterfly in 25.86.
Lim Ching Hwang and Caroline Chan claimed their second gold medals in as many days after winning the men’s 100m freestyle and women’s 200m backstroke respectively.
Ching Hwang won the men’s 200m freestyle race while Caroline chalked up an upset win and a new Games record to boot in the women’s 50m backstroke on Sunday.
The other winners for Selangor were Kok Cher Ling (women’s 100m freestyle) and Yai Siew Hui (women’s 50m butterfly).
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