The Star : Emerging triathlete Zoe Natasha Bowden raring for bigger challenges in future events

Friday, February 24, 2012
by Ng Wei Loon

IN HER bid to move up to the next level, emerging triathlete Zoe Natasha Bowden is set to take on new and unknown obstacles by joining the more competitive junior scene.

Although Zoe, 12, has been making her presence felt in local junior triathlon races since taking up the multi-discipline endurance event in 2009, the rookie is excited about gearing up for her first major test of the season at the International Triathlon Union’s (ITU) Asian Cup at Subic Bay in the Philippines on May 5.

“The victories in smaller junior age-group events have definitely boosted my confidence to face stiffer challenges. I am excited about gauging my strength by going up against stronger competitors in tougher events. I know that I will need to keep up with the pace and continue to strive for improvement as I progress to the next level. I am also approaching a crossroads in weighing my options to focus on triathlon seriously,” Bowden said, adding she is also chasing her dream to earn a place for the prestigious Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, in the future.

Ironman campaigners are required to complete a 3.8km swim, a 180km ride and 42km run in the gruelling event.

Rising star: Budding triathlete Zoe Natasha Bowden.

At the moment, the Garden International School student is setting her sights on maintaining her good run in her third appearance at the Phuket IronKids competition at the Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TLSC) in Thailand on April 20.

Zoe was the girls’ 12 to 13-years category winner as well as clocking the fastest time to finish as the seniors’ course overall champion at the meet on two separate occasions in Phuket last year.

Following a memorable debut, completing the 300m swim, 12km ride and 3km run in 41:55 in April, she returned with an improved time of 39:23 to retain her top position in December.

“For my next outing, it would be great to extend my winning streak at the Phuket Ironkids. My aim is to reduce my previous time by another minute,” Zoe said.

Over the years, Zoe has also featured in various junior age-groups swimming meets at national and regional levels.

Besides going through her paces under the Kuala Lumpur Amateur Swimming (PRAKL) programme, she is also a Triathlon Association of Malaysia (TRIAM) junior trainee.

“I started to take up swimming seriously at the age of seven. I am very comfortable going into the opening event of the triathlon races based of my background in swimming. However, I will still need to work on my cycling and running. I have been training under renowned triathlon coach Steve Lumley from Britain since the end of last year. Currently, Steve is sharing his knowledge with other triathletes under the TRIAM banner during his stint in Malaysia. I am sure that I am going to gain and benefit from his vast experience and expertise to become a better athlete,” Zoe said.

In 2010, she showed her promise with her victory in the girls’ Under-12 category at the Port Dickson International Triathlon.

She went on to extend her domination winning the girls’ Under-12 section at the Singapore International Triathlon last year.

This year, she is also expected to sign up for the both meets in Port Dickson and Singapore scheduled on July 7 and 14 respectively.

FACT FILE

Name: Zoe Natasha Bowden

Date of Birth: March 4, 1999

Ht: 1.65m Wt: 45kg

School: Garden International School

Hobbies: Art, drawing, information and communications technology, photography, reading, travelling

Ambition: Professional triathlete

Favourite Sports Personalities: Ian Thorpe (Aus); Cadel Evans (Aus); Usain Bolt (Jam); Francisco Javier Gomez Noya (Spn)

Coach: Steve Lumley

Achievements:

2010

- Port Dickson International triathlon girls’ Under-12 champion

- Australian International School Malaysia (AISM) triathlon girls’ Under-13 champion

- Chin Woo Biathlon girls’ Under-14 champion

2011

- TNT-Kuala Lumpur Alice Smith School triathlon girls’ Under-13 champion

- Nexus International School triathlon girls’ Under-13 champion

- Inaugural Phuket IronKids girls’ 12 to 13 years champion and senior girls’ (12 to 15 years) overall champion

- Singapore International triathlon girls’ 12 to 15 years champion

- AISM triathlon girls’ Under-15 champion

- Second Phuket IronKids girls’ 12 to 13 years champion and senior girls’ (12 to 15 years) overall champion

- Chin Woo Biathlon girls’ Under-14 champion

48th National Age Group Swimming Championship 2012

The 48th Milo/PRAM National Age Group Swimming Championship 2012, held from 6 -8 April 2012, has been more abuzz this year as it is also an Olympic qualifying event sanctioned by FINA. This has attracted foreign teams from Hong Kong, India and Guam who flew in to participate the event at The National  Aquatic Centre in Bukti Jalil, apart from our very own local teams.

The KL Swim Team has sent a total of 51 swimmers to represent the Wilayah Persekutuan (WP) and they all did well in helping the KL Team collect points. Few new impressive records were already charted by the KL Team on the first day of the meet.

Wong Jun Bin, 12 (in red cap) with his competitors, all ready to take the plunge

The first remarkable performance was achieved by Wong Jun Bin who broke the opening event 101 for 1500m freestyle (boys 11-12) by clocking a new record time of 17:42.00s, shedding off more than 14 seconds from the previous record of 17:56.59s held by Ngu Jiung Wei last year.

Tan Rou Ying, 12 also did us proud by smashing the 800m freestyle record together with a Hong Kong swimmer where both of them achieved better times compared to the previous record held by Angela Chieng of 10:01.18s. Rou Ying, fondly known as Bonnie, came in second (9:48.13s) behind Hong Kong swimmer, Cheng Cin Ying who claimed the gold medal with a new time of 9:37.26s.

Bonnie Tan broke the 800m freestyle record under the 12 years category

Later in the day the meet became more exciting when national swimmer, Ian James Barr broke 2 NAG records. In the 200m breaststroke Ian touched first at 2:23.85s to tumble down Lau Zheng Fong's 2009 record of 2:25.88s. He then re-wrote his own record of 2:11.60s in the 200m IM by renewing his time at 2:08.91s ahead of 2 Hong Kong swimmers. On the second day, Ian went on his record-breaking spree by re-writing his previous year's record of 4:44.24s in the 400m IM to achieve a new time of 4:42.11s. Ian continued to be champion of the pool on the third day in the 50m backstroke by renewing his 2011 record of 27.39 when he dipped lower at 27.24 and then again in the 100m breaststroke erasing his own record two years ago of 1:06.87s with an improved time of 1:06.67s.

Meanwhile, Christina Loh also broke her own record in tandem with her Hong Kong counterpart, Fiona Ma, where Fiona reached a second faster than Christina by clocking 2:37.78s, whilst Christina finished second at 2:38.94s, both times erased Christina's last year own record  of 2:45.00s in the 200m breaststroke event. Mak Ai Sin came in third at 2:46.77s in the same heat.

Golden girl: Christina Loh on her way to winning the 100m breaststroke at the Malaysian Open at the National Aquatic Centre Thursday. Inset: Christina with her gold medal. —M.AZHAR ARIF/The Star.

With their commendable timings Ian James, Christina Loh, Wong Jun Bin and Bonnie Tan representing the KL Team would qualify themselves into the SEA Age Group Swimming Championship to be held in Palembang, Indonesia in June 2012.

Overall the whole KL Team did excellently well by collecting 27 golds, 27 silver and 21 bronze thanks to the medallists below :

Steve Kiew (Boys 10 & Under)
200m IM (Gold, 2:47.50)
200m freestyle (Gold, 2:26.83)
100m backstroke (Gold, 1:16.55)
100m freestyle (Silver, 1:08.37)
50m backstroke (Silver, 37.45)

Sebastian Soon (Boys 10 & Under)
100m butterfly (Gold, 1:17.43)
100m freestyle (Bronze, 1:08.81)
200m IM (Bronze, 2:50.91)
50m butterfly (Bronze, 34.04)
200m freestyle (Bronze, 2:30.45)

Iqmal Muqhis  (Boys 10 & Under)
50m breaststroke (Silver, 41.49)

Anjali Lim (Girls 10 & Under)
100m butterfly (Bronze, 1:20.15)
50m butterfly (Bronze, 35.45)

Pun Pei Jin (Girls 10 & Under)
100m butterfly (Silver, 1:18.93)
200m IM (Bronze, 2:55.75)

Karla Lim (Girls 10 & Under)
100m backstroke (Silver, 1:21.05)

Wong Jun Bin (Boys 11-12)
1500m freestyle (Gold, 17:42.00R)*
100m freestyle (Gold, 58.43)
400m freestyle (Gold, 4:32.97)
400m IM (Gold, 5:15.48)
200m freestyle (Gold, 2:07.54)
200m butterfly (Gold, 2:21.26)
50m freestyle (Gold, 27.27)
100m butterfly (Silver, 1:04.17)
50m butterfly (Silver, 29.30)

Goh Yue Hong (Boys 11-12)
200m IM (Gold, 2:25.70)
100m butterfly (Gold, 1:03.67)
100m backstroke (Gold, 1:07.80)
50m butterfly (Gold, 28.82)
50m backstroke (Gold, 31.26)
100m freestyle (Silver, 58.61)
200m backstroke (Silver, 2:31.74)
400m IM (Silver, 5:21.27)
200m butterfly (Silver, 2:22.40)

Tan Rou Ying (Girls 11-12)
800m freestyle (Silver, 9:48.13R)*
100m freestyle (Silver, 1:00.60)
200m backstroke (Silver, 2:35.35)
400m freestyle (Silver, 4:45.08)
400m IM (Silver, 5:20.66)
50m butterfly (Silver, 30.71)
200m freestyle (Silver, 2:14.83)
50m freestyle (Silver, 28.59)
200m IM (Bronze, 2:31.89)
100m butterfly (Bronze, 1:08.88)
100m backstroke (Bronze, 1:10.95)
50m backstroke (Bronze, 32.85)
200m butterfly (Bronze, 2:34.17)

Zoe Bowden (Girls 11-12)
200m backstroke (Bronze, 2:40.83)

Nur Hanisah (Girls 13-14)
800m freestyle (Bronze, 9:50.27)

Nicholas Soon (Boys 13-14)
200m breaststroke (Bronze, 2:31.36)

Ian James Barr (Boys 15-17)
200m breaststroke (Gold, 2:23.85R)*
200m IM (Gold, 2:08.91R)*
200m backstroke (Gold, 2:10.60)
100m backstroke (Gold, 58.71)
400m IM (Gold, 4:42.11R)*
50m backstroke (Gold, 27.24R)*
100m breaststroke (Gold, 1:06.67R)*

Lee Tzong Lit  (Boys 15-17)
50m butterfly (Gold, 26.25)

Tan Gin Yu (Boys 15-17)
200m butterfly (Silver, 2:08.34)

Christina Loh (Girls 15-17)
50m breaststroke (Gold, 32.56)
100m breaststroke (Gold, 1:12.48)
200m breaststroke (Silver, 2:38.94R)*
50m butterfly (Bronze, 29.67)

Mak Ai Sin (Girls 15-17)
200m breaststroke (Bronze, 2:46.77)

Andrew Loh (Boys 18 & Over)
50m backstroke (Gold, 28.33)
100m backstroke (Silver, 1:02.09)
50m butterfly (Silver, 26.43)
50m freestyle (Silver, 24.92)
50m breaststroke (Bronze, 31.04)
100m breaststroke (Bronze, 1:09.74)


* NAG record

The WP Relay Teams also grabbed some medals for the following relay events :

4x100m Freestyle Relay (Boys 11-12) - Silver
(Wong Jun Bin, Adam Afif, Muhd. Alif Afifi and Goh Yue Hong)

4x50m Freestyle Relay (Boys 10 & Under) - Silver
(Steve Kiew, Iqmas Muqhis, Sebastian Soon, Ng Kai Wen)

4x100m Medley Relay (Boys 11-12) - Silver
(Goh Yue Hong, Adam Afif, Wong Jun Bin, Muhd. Alif Afifi)

 4x100m Medley Relay (Girls 11-12) - Bronze

(Zoe Bowden, Yap Li Wen, Chong Yong Qi, Tan Rou Ying)

4x100m Medley Relay (Boys 13-14) - Bronze
(Keith Lim, Nicholas Soon, Yeo Jin Jie, Tan El Siang)

Download Full Results of NAG 2012.


For last year 47th NAG 2011, you may refer to the following blog for further reports :
USPTN Wilayah Persekutuan - Day 1
USPTN Wilayah Persekutuan - Day 2 & 3

Also read related articles :

Christina tops 100m breaststroke in new meet record (The Star, 4 May 2012)
Edwin: All states aware of decision to invite foreign swimmers (The Star, 11 Apr 2012)
States unhappy with decision to invite foreign swimmers  (The Star, 10 Apr 2012)
National Age-Group Championships: Competition gets attention for wrong reasons (The New Straits Times, 10 April 2012)

Anson Chew, 11

Chong Yong Qi, 11

Anjali Lim (in red cap) and Pun Pei Jin (in white cap) racing in their butterfly event

Bonnie Tan, 12

Wong Jun Bin, 12

Yeong Yik San, 11

The Star : Tan making steady progress

Friday September 12, 2008
By Ng Wei Loon

DESPITE facing initial difficulties in mastering the butterfly stroke, it did not dampen the Kuala Lumpur Amateur Swimming Association (PRAKL) trainee Tan Gin Yu’s desire to cope and strive for steady progress in the discipline.

The 12-year-old said he enjoyed competing in the butterfly events now because it offered him the opportunity to win more medals at age-group competitions.

Splashing form: Tan emerged as the top Under-12 swimmer at the MSSKL meet this year.

This year, the SRJK Mun Yee Year Six pupil in Setapak dominated the boys’ Under-12 category at the Kuala Lumpur Schools Sports Council (MSSKL) meet.

En route to emerging as the best swimmer in the section, he bagged a total of 11 gold medals in the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke; 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly; 50m and 100m freestyle; 50m and 100m breaststroke; and 200m individual medley.

“The breaststroke was the toughest because I do not spend as much time on the stroke in the pool,” said Tan, who is youngest of three siblings.

Tan’s former coach Sia Wai Loon from the Ikan Bilis Swimming Club (IBSC) said Tan showed his natural ability in the backstroke.

“When he joined the club’s training programme four years ago, he found it tough to perform the butterfly stroke. But, he improved on his weakness as he had the chance to train with the seniors who were three years older than him.

“Although he was not as strong physically compared with the others in the group then, he tried to push hard to keep up with the pace. He should be doing well at the national age-group level with proper training over the next couple of years,” added Sia.

Since 2005, Tan has been earning his berth to feature at the National Age-Groups meet.

He is the meet record holder in the 50m backstroke event for the boys’ Under-Nine (40.98s) and boys’ Under-10 (39.98s) sections recorded at the PRAKL and the MSSKL meets respectively in the same year.

“We encourage him to pursue swimming because he always likes to be in the water. It is not about the achievements because we do not rate his accomplishments thus far as outstanding. But, we are proud of him because he is showing good work rate and the commitment to do well. He does not have the time to indulge in other activities because of his tight schedule. We are satisfied as long as he tries hard to improve. His school has also encouraged him to scale greater heights,” said his mother, Pang Pay Fen.

Tan is the youngest trainee in the PRAKL training programme and is undergoing training six times a week under Chinese coach He Ting Lan at the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) swimming pool at Bandar Tun Razak in Cheras.

“He has improved gradually in all four strokes because the coach is grooming him to become a competent swimmer for the individual medley,” Pang added.

For the National Inter-Club Championships at the end of the year, Tan is aiming to do well in the boys’ Group Three (11-12 years) 100m backstroke and butterfly events.

RISING STAR

TAN GIN YU
Age: 12 years
Height: 1.50m
Weight: 50kg
School: SRJK Mun Yee, Setapak (Year Six)
Club: Ikan Bilis Swimming Club
Coach: He Ting Lan (PRAKL programme)
Favourite Events: 100m butterfly, 200m backstroke
Personal Bests: 100m butterfly (1:09), 200m backstroke (2:38)
Favourite Pastime: Swimming
Favourite Hangout: Home
Ambition: Swimming coach

ACHIEVEMENTS

2004
- PRAKL boys’ Group Five (Under-Nine) one gold (50m backstroke) and one silver (100m freestyle) medals

2005
- PRAKL boys’ Group Five (Under-Nine) one gold (50m backstroke), one silver (100m freestyle), one bronze (50m freestyle) medals
- MSSKL boys’ Under-10 two gold (50m and 100m freestyle) , one silver (50m backstroke)and one bronze (50m butterfly) medals

2006
- PRAKL boys’ Group Four (Under-11) one silver (100m backstroke) and one bronze (200m freestyle) medals
- National Age-Groups boys’ Group Four (Under-11) one silver medal (4x100m freestyle)
- MSSKL boys’ Under-10 three gold (50m backstroke, 50 freestyle, 50m breaststroke) and two silver (100m freestyle and 50m butterfly) medals
- MSSKL boys’ Under-10 Best Swimmer recipient
- Sukan Teras Aquatics Championships boys’ Under-12 one gold (100m butterfly), one silver (50m butterfly) and two bronze (50m and 100m backstroke) medals

2007
- PRAKL boys’ Group Four (Under-11) one gold (100m backstroke), two silver (50m backstroke, 100m butterfly) and three bronze (50m butterfly, 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle)medals
- National Age-Groups boys’ Group Four (Under-11) three silver (50m backstroke, 4x100 freestyle, 4x50m medley) medals
- MSSKL Development Circuit boys’ Under-12 11 gold medals (50m, 100m and 200m backstroke, 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly, 50m and 100m freestyle, 50m and 100m breaststroke, 200m individual medley)

2008
- PRAKL boys’ Group Three (12 to 13 years) one gold (100m freestyle), four silver (200m butterfly, 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 200m individual medley) and one bronze (200m breaststroke) medals
- National Age-Groups boys’ Group Three (12 to 13 years) one silver medal (200m backstroke)
- MSSKL boys’ Under-12 11 gold medals (50m, 100m and 200m backstroke, 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly, 50m and 100m freestyle, 50m and 100m breaststroke, 200m individual medley)
- MSSKL boys’ Under-12 Best Swimmer recipient
- MSSM boys’ Under-12 two silver (200m freestyle, 100m butterfly) and one bronze medal (200m individual medley)

The Star : Nine-year-old Tan Rou Ying is proving to be a class act

Friday, July 18, 2008
by Ng Wei Loon

AFTER having won only a bronze medal in the girls’ Under-10 50m backstroke at the Kuala Lumpur Sports Council (MSSMKL) Swimming Championships last year, budding swimmer Tan Rou Ying from SJK (C) Chi Man in Sentul had a taste of fame with her major breakthrough in this season’s competition in January.

The nine-year-old said it was a memorable outing because she won the best swimmer award in the girls’ Under-10 category.

Tan bagged four gold medals – in the 50m butterfly, 50m backstroke, 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle – as well as a silver medal in the 50m breaststroke at the meet.

Tan: ‘My aim is to improve and do better to retain the award next year.’

“It was my best outing thus far because I managed to prove myself with good results. My aim is to improve and do better to retain the award next year,” added Tan.

She went on to stamp her mark at the Kuala Lumpur Amateur Swimming Association (PRAKL) Age-Group meet in February, at which she captured five gold medals, including a record-breaking feat in the girls’ Group Five (Under-Eight) category.

In the 50m butterfly, she erased the old record of 41.81s with a 40.04s effort.

“Going into the race, I was confident of rewriting the mark because I had consistently been clocking a faster time than the previous record in training. I won the event unchallenged,” said Tan.

Her other victories came in the 50m backstroke, 50m breaststroke, 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle.

Last month, she took part in eight events in the girls’ Group Four (Under-10) category at the opening leg of the SportExcel circuit.

Her father Tan Kok Yew said she had been maintaining her form, competing against her seniors in all the four strokes (freestyle, breast, butterfly and back) over the 50m and 100m distances.

Breakthrough: Tan claiming the MSSMKL best swimmer award in the girls’ Under-10 category.

“Although she is swimming at a disadvantage in the age-group, it has been good exposure for her. She has been showing consistency in matching her personal best in all the events. We will encourage her to take part in the other two legs, scheduled ithis month and August,” he added.

It was a natural progression for Tan to join her three elder siblings – Rou Jun, 16, Jun Hao, 15, and Rou Jie, 13 – in the pool.

“She took up swimming when she was just a year old at the Chin Woo swimming club and started competing in age-group competitions at the age of five.

“Before joining the Ikan Bilis Swimming Club (IBSC) in October last year, two coaches (Peh Gin Hai and Ong Ching Guan) at Chin Woo had played important roles in grooming her,” said Kok Yew.

Currently, she trains six times a week under the tutelage of the IBSC coaches at the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) pool in Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras.

IBSC coach Zoe Khor described Tan as an emerging talent with good potential.

“Her work rate in training fluctuates according to her mood because she might be worried about her homework,” Khor noted. “She has to show better commitment in going through the paces in training.”

Tan is expected to feature for the club at the National Inter-Club Swimming Championships.

TAN ROU YING

Age: Nine years

Height: 1.40m

Weight: 39kg

School: SJK (C) Chi Man, Sentul (Year Three)

Club: Ikan Bilis Swimming Club

Favourite Stroke: Backstroke

Personal Bests: 50m backstroke (43.42s), 100m backstroke (1:27.82)

Favourite Food: Noodles

Favourite Pastime: Reading

Favourite Hangout: MPH Bookstores, Mid Valley

Ambition: Doctor

ACHIEVEMENTS

2007

– MSSMKL girls’ Under-10 one bronze medal (50m backstroke)

2008

– MSSMKL girls’ Under-10 four gold medals (50m butterfly, 50m backstroke, 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle) and one silver medal (50m breaststroke)

– MSSMKL girls’ Under-10 Best Swimmer award

– PRAKL girls’ Group Five (Under-Eight) five gold medals (50m butterfly, 50m backstroke, 50m breaststroke, 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle)

The Star : Set to make a splash

Friday February 29, 2008
By Ng Wei Loon


AFTER an impressive run in the Kuala Lumpur Sports Council (MSSMKL) Swimming Championships that concluded in January, MSSMKL girls’ Under-15 best swimmer recipient Goh Suat Ying is setting her sights on winning a medal at the Malaysia Games to be held in Terengganu from May 31 to June 9.

In her debut at the biennial Games in Kedah two years ago, the 15-year-old SMK Bukit Nanas student featured in two individual events (200m butterfly and 200m backstroke).

Repetitive drill: Goh going through the demanding training programme.

Goh said she was aiming to secure her berth for a second appearance in Sukma.
“It is possible that I will get the chance to compete in three events (200m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle and 4x100m medley). The best bet to win a medal is in the 4x200m freestyle relay,” she added.

At this year’s MSSMKL competition, Goh swept nine gold medals and shattered five meet records to emerge as the top swimmer in the girls’ Under-15 category.

Mentor and protégé: Goh (left) is currently under the charge of Chinese coach He.

She set new marks in the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke, 200m freestyle and 200m butterfly.
Four other victories included the 50m and 100m butterfly, 100m freestyle and 200m individual medley.

Goh said breaking the records in the 200m freestyle and 100m backstroke came beyond her expectations.

“The 200m freestyle was the toughest race because I swam alone in the second heat. Three of the stronger rivals were in Heat One. So, I was chasing against time on my own in the race. I only managed to reduce the previous mark with a narrow margin,” she said.

In the 200-metre freestyle, she clocked 2:19.50 to erase the 2:19.76 record set by Goh Eik Hee in 1999.

Additionally, she registered a new pace of 1:14.08 in the 100m backstroke.

Last year, she also won the MSSMKL Most Promising Girl Athlete and Federal Territory Games Best Female Swimmer awards.

“At the MSSMKL swimming meet last year, I broke two records in the girls’ Under-15 50m and 200m backstroke,” said Goh, adding that the backstroke was her favourite discipline.

After taking the plunge in the sport at the Chin Woo swimming pool in Kuala Lumpur when she was in Year One, the former SJK (C) Jalan Imbi pupil did not take long to show her promise.

“I am the youngest of four siblings. Both my elder brothers and my elder sister also took up swimming recreationally. I am the only one in the family to pursue it to a higher level. Winning my first gold medal in the girls’ Under-10 50m butterfly when I was only in Year One spurred me to take up swimming seriously,” she added.

Goh was roped into the Kuala Lumpur Amateur Swimming Association (PRAKL) training programme at the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) swimming pool in Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, when she entered secondary school.

Her mother Chin Siow Aiew said Goh trains nine sessions a week and each session goes for up to three hours.

“Swimming is a refreshing change for her to break the momentum from concentrating on her studies. It is a physical activity to help her build her character,” added Chin, who sits on the spectators’ stand along with other parents while they watch their children go through the paces in training.

Currently, she is training under the tutelage of Chinese coach He Ting Lan in the PRAKL training squad.

Despite her good showing at the recent MSSMKL, He said Goh would face an uphill task against stronger competitors at the national age-group competitions.

“In training, she is showing her desire and commitment to strive for improvement. But, she still needs to work on it and aim to clock better times against better-quality field in the upcoming PRAKL Age-Group competition as a build up to the National Age-Group,” added He.

The PRAKL Age-Group is scheduled from Feb 29 to March 2 followed by the National Age-Group to be held in April.

“Before tapering down for competitions, the repetitive training regime can be tough. The endurance training such as the 4x400m individual medley and the 6x200m butterfly can be taxing on the arms and increase the heartbeat rate. Usually, I feel the soreness on my muscles after a hard session.

“Although the training can be demanding, I enjoy going to the pool because I have friends who share the same passion,” said Goh.

GOH SUAT YING

Age: 15 years

Height: 1.59m

Weight: 47kg

School: SMK Convent Bukit Nanas (Form Three)

Favourite Event: 100m backstroke

Personal Best: 100m backstroke (1:13.78)

Favourite Food: Fried chicken

Favourite Pastime: Studying

Favourite Hangout: Mid Valley

Ambition: Doctor

ACHIEVEMENTS

2004

- MSSM girls’ Under-12 one gold and one silver medals

- Milo-SportExcel Circuit (three legs) girls’ Under-11 overall best swimmer

2005

- MSSM girls’ Under-12 two silver and one bronze medals

2006

- National Age-Group Swimming Championships girls’ Under-13 five gold medals

- Debut in Sukma 2007

- MSSMKL Most Promising Girl Athlete recipient

- Federal Territory Games Best Female Swimmer (five gold medals) 2008

- MSSMKL girls' Under-15 five records and nine gold medals

- MSSMKL girls' Under-15 Best Swimmer