Star Online : National swimmers off to an unimpressive start in Barcelona

By Lim Teik Huat

BARCELONA: It was an unimpressive start for the national swimmers at the World Championships here today.

Kevin Yeap finished 36th out of 48 competitors in the men's 400m freestyle. - GLENN GUAN/The Star

Kevin Yeap was the first Malaysian to go into action at the Palau Sant Jordi pool. He clocked 3:59.08 in the 400m freestyle heats to finish 36th out of 48 competitors. It was way off his national record of 3:53.26 he set at the Malaysian Open in Bukit Jalil in May this year.

The only consolation for Kevin, the defending SEA Games champion, was that he was the top swimmer from South East-Asia ahead of Vietnam’s Pham Thanh Nguyen, who was placed 43rd with a time of 4:13.91. Sun Yang, China’s reigning Olympic champion, qualified fastest in 3:44.67.

Khoo Cai Lin swam in the same heat as American favourite Katie Ledecky in the women’s 400m freestyle. But Cai Lin failed to be inspired as she clocked 4:23.67 to be placed 30th overall. Ledecky, the London Olympic gold medallist in the 800m freestyle, was fastest in 4:03.05.

Cai Lin, who holds the national record of 4:10.75, will have to work harder now to bridge the gap ahead of the Myanmar SEA Games in December as she has fallen behind Lynette Lim of Singapore (22nd, 4:14.76) and Natthanan Junkrajang of Thailand (30th, 4:19.77).

As for Siow Yi Ting, she clocked 2:17.90 in the 200m individual medley heats to finish 32nd – the best performer from South-East Asia – ahead of Singapore’s Samantha Yeo (38th, 2:20.19).