Ikan Bilis Swimming Club (1971) KL: Tan Rou Ying earned a place in the National Squad

Mrs Tan (background) is Bonnie's constant supporter in all aspects

IT'S NO WONDER why Bonnie Tan Rou Ying, 13, was one of the promising swimmers being selected to join the National Swim Team in Bukit Jalil not too long ago.

With a string of core achievements splashed by Rou Ying, it's not surprising the National Team coach, Mr Paul Birmingham has set eyes on her.

Being discipline and focus in training are Bonnie's attributes in her success

Bonnie was initially drafted into the PRAKL Elite Team under the stewardship of Coach He Ting Lan at the Bandar Tun Razak pool at the end of 2010 and her progress has gained momentum ever since.

Prior to that she has been under the tutelage of Coach Zoe Khor and Coach Teo Mui Nyee in the intermediate level before advancing to the advance competitive training under IBSC Head Coach, Coach Shazali and also Coach Kamal.

Bonnie, a bubbly and active girl, has been swimming since the age of 5 along with her siblings who were also in competitive swimming then. So her involvement in swimming is rather circumstanced by convenience rather than by choice, as her mum Mrs Tan thought it will be a waste Bonnie idles around while her elder sibling trains hard in the pool. So there she went jumping into the pool as well and perhaps it's in the gene of an athletic family, Bonnie excels with ease, much to the delight of her parents.

Her selection at this tender age of 13 only, doesn't really come as a surprise for her past achievements speak for themselves. Bonnie has been named Overall Champions in several meets, like :

Sports Excel Junior Swimming Circuit 2011 and 2012, Grand Final (11-12 Girls)
Kejohanan Akuatik MSSWP 2011 and 2012 (11-12 Girls)
Kejohanan Akuatik MSSWP 2008 and 2009 (Under 10 Girls)

Her past medals collection is a good testament of how superbly well she has glided forward in her swimming career thus far.

Swimming Meet	Meet Record	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2007 (Group 5)
PRAKL	-	2	3	-
MSSWP	-	-	-	1
2008 (Group 5)
PRAKL	1	5	-	-
MSSWP	-	5	-	-
2009 (Group 4)
PRAKL	-	-	1	1
MSSWP	1	3	2	-
Sports Excel Grand Final	-	-	2	-
28^th President Cup	-	1	1	-
2010 (Group 4)
PRAKL	1	8	1	-
MSSWP	-	2	-	2
MSSM	-	2	-	-
Sports Excel Grand Final	-	2	-	1
46^th NAG	-	2	-	3
29^th President Cup	-	2	2	-
2011 (Group 3)
PRAKL	1	9	2	1
MSSWP	4	10	-	-
MSSM	1	4	1	2
Sports Excel Grand Final	-	4	1	1
47^th NAG	-	6	1	3
30^th President Cup	1	3	2	-
2012 (Group 3)
PRAKL	7	12	-	-
MSSWP	4	7	1	-
MSSM	-	3	1	1
Sports Excel Grand Final	-	6	-	-
48^th NAG	1	-	8	5
36^th SEA Age Group	-	4	-	1
SUKMA	-	-	-	1
31^st President Cup	1	5	1	-

Backstroke is Bonnie's pet event

In 2012 alone, Bonnie has broken 7 meet records in the KL Age Group Swimming Championship (PRAKL) in February 2012 under the Group 3 Girls. Her impressive performance awed the spectators and her peers as she swept all the gold in the 12 events she participated.

In the same PRAKL meet in 2011, she smashed a record with 9 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze despite being at a disadvantaged age.

In the MSSWP meet in February 2012, again Bonnie proved that she's clearly better than the rest even though she was swimming against the 14 and 15 years old under the 15 years group, by being bestowed the Best Swimmer in that group. This she achieved by breaking 4 MSSWP records in all her pet events of backstroke and the 200m IM. Bonnie swept a total of 7 gold and 1 silver in the inter-school meet, representing SMK Amminuddin Baki.

Her progress continued at MSSM level in Sabah the following month, where she went on to dip below all her PBs to claim 3 gold (50m backstroke 32.25s, 100m backstroke 1:10.51s, 200m backstroke 2:32.83s), 1 silver in 200m IM (2:32.38s) and 1 bronze in 400m IM (5:25.66s).

On the international front, Bonnie earned her chance to participate in the 36th SEA Age Group Swimming Championship at Jakabaring Aquatic Centre in Palembang in June 2012. Although the meet was her first overseas venture, she did extremely well in the girls under 12 category by scooping quadruplet of first placings in the 400m freestyle, 200m IM, 200m freestyle and 100m freestyle events.

The Sea Age Swimming Championship was a good ground for Bonnie to test herself on international water, seen here with the Malaysian team at Palembang in June 2012

Even when Bonnie made her first debut in the SUKMA 2012 in Pahang, she proved herself to be quite at par with her seniors as the events were all of open category. She was the youngest medalist in the 50m backstroke when she came in third after Caroline Chan, 16 and her KL team mate, Chan Kah Yan, 19. Together with the KL girls, Bonnie also helped to propel the relay team to achieve gold in the 4x100m freestyle event.

The KL lads clinched gold in their 4x100m freestyle relay with team members Ong Min Fen, Chan Kah Yan, Mak Ai Sin and Bonnie Tan (far right).

Bonnie (second from left) shared a glorious moment with the KL victors during SUKMA 2012 in Pahang recently.

On her selection into the National Squad, Bonnie feels rather excited at this life-changing event and the few months of training with a different program and new environment at the National Aquatic Centre offer a new twist in her swimming life. At the same time, she misses her training mates dearly at IBSC, whom she has trained together for years. On her non-training days, she will jump to the opportunity to visit her friends at the Cheras pool to catch-up with them socially.

Bonnie credits her PRAKL coach of 5 years, Coach He Ting Lan for her success in competitive swimming. In her appreciation, she commended, "Coach He deserves the most credit because she encouraged me not to be afraid of hardship and pushed me hardest to go forward to achieve my goals". She went on to thanked her parents too as they play an important role in leading her into this sports and they have continued to encourage her and providing her with all her needs.

On the other hand, Coach He described Bonnie as a very well disciplined and focused trainee who always train hard. "Her body physique is also to her advantage as she has strong and tall built. Bonnie also doesn't let her mood affect her training.", complimented Coach He.

Coach He shares Bonnie's joy too and she feels proud to have groomed one more capable swimmer to be elevated to the national level.

When asked what advice would she give to younger swimmers in order to excel in swimming, Bonnie has this to say : "Don't be afraid to go 100% and never give up. Hard training may be tiring but it is rewarding."

Bonnie with swimming peer, Cindy Tai receiving their rewards during the Sports Excel presentation ceremony

Bonnie was awarded the Individual Top Scorer for President Cup 2012 by IBSC

Victory doesn't come without sacrifices. For Bonnie, her leisure time is limited by intensive training and school hours. However, no matter how little free time she can find, Bonnie would grab the opportunity to link with her friends in Facebook, read or sing. And she's an 'eggie' freak! She loves fried eggs, scrambled, half-boiled, hard-boiled, steamed .... you named it, she loves it! (That could be her secret recipe!)

Some other facts about Bonnie :

Favourite swimming idol :	Daniel Bego
Favourite swim stroke :	Freestyle
Least favourite stroke :	Breaststroke
Ambition :	Finalist in the Olympics
Favourite subjects in school :	English
Hobbies during leisure time :	Reading and singing
Favourite movie :	Madagascar
Favourite book :	The Gift by Cecelia Ahern

We wish Bonnie Tan all the best in her swimming career under the national team and are confident that she will soar higher beneath her wings.

Tan Rou Ying, an ace swimmer with bright prospect

Long distance events are Bonnie's favourite as she has high level of endurance

Bonnie will be missed by friends at the Sports Excel participation next year as she will no longer be able to compete in this junior meet since she's now classified as a national swimmer