The NST : M'sia's national 4x100m relay record smashed at Singapore Championships

By AJITPAL SINGH - March 20, 2017 @ 9:43am

KUALA LUMPUR: Tern Jian Han, Wong Fu Kang, Chan Jie and Keith Lim smashed the country's long-standing national record in the men's 4x100m medley relay for a silver medal at the Singapore national age-group championships on Sunday.

The quartet clocked 3:45.28 to surpass the previous record of 3:45.61 set by Lim Keng Liat, Elvin Chia, Anthony Ang and Allen Ong in the 1999 Sea Games in Brunei.

Welson Sim also made an impact on the final day of the meet by winning the 1,500m freestyle final.

The 20-year-old clocked 15:31.10 for his third title after wins in the 200m and 400m events.

Indonesian Perwira Aflah Fadlan and Singaporean Pang Sheng settled for silver (15:34.50) and bronze (16:03.97) respectively.

It was a new personal best effort for Welson in the event.

Tern Jian Han, Wong Fu Kang, Chan Jie and Keith Lim smashed the country's long-standing national record in the men's 4x100m medley relay for a silver medal at the Singapore national age-group championships on Sunday. (File pix)

The Star : Welson bags two golds to underline SEA Games ambition

BY LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: Welson Sim sent a warning to his rivals that he means business in the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games with a double golden splash at the Singapore National Age-Group Swimming Championships.

The 19-year-old swam a powerful last lap to win the 400m freestyle gold in 3:52.89 in the boys’ 18 and over category at the OCBC Aquatic Centre on Saturday.

Welson’s time was inside his own SEA Games record of 3:53.97 set at the same venue in 2015.

Indonesian Perwira Aflah Fadlan grabbed the silver in 3:55.88 ahead of Singapore’s Pang Sheng Jun who clocked 3:55.91.

It was the second gold for Welson. Earlier on Wednesday, he emerged triumphant after a hard-fought 200m freestyle win in the 18 and over class.

Making great strides: Welson Sim lowered his own 400m SEA Games record by more than a second at the Singapore National Age-Group Swimming Championships to win gold.

Welson touched home in 1:49.27, just ahead of Singaporean rival Yeo Kai Quan who settled for the silver in 1:49.37. Sheng Jun clocked 1:51.33 to secure the bronze, also for Singapore.

Welson, who made his Olympic debut under Category A in Rio de Janeiro last year, was a bronze medallist in the 200m freestyle at the 2015 SEA Games and clearly indicated he is going for the gold in KL in August.

“Welson posted decent timings. We’re still in training mode at this time of the year,” said national coach Paul Birmingham.

Welson was the only Malaysian gold medallist after four days of competition.

Caroline Chan bagged silver in the girls’ 18 and over 50m backstroke

The best from South-East Asia as well as swimmers from Japan are competing in the championships.

Caroline Chan, competing in the girls’ 18 and over, contributed a silver for Malaysia when she clocked 29.71 in the 50m backstroke.

Wong Fu Kang was the other silver medallist for Malaysia. He posted his season’s best time of 1:02.73 in the boys’ 18 and over 100m breaststroke final.

Malaysia also bagged two bronzes through Tern Jian Han in the boys’ 18 and over 50m backstroke (26.71) and Chan Jie in the boys’ 18 and over 100m butterfly (54.29).


Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/swimming/2017/03/20/show-of-intent/#SdIFRuFjQDEGZkIy.99

The Star : Awesome Welson makes the cut for a second Olympics event

BY LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: Welson Sim has done it again.

The 18-year-old has become the first Malaysian swimmer to qualify for two Olympic “A” events after claiming the men’s 200m freestyle gold medal in record-breaking fashion at the Singapore National Age Group swimming championships on Friday.

Welson touched the wall in a sensational 1:47.67 at the OCBC Aquatic Centre to smash his national mark of 1:48.11 set at the World Cup meet in Doha last November.

He thus dipped under the Rio Olympic “A” time of 1:47.97 for the event.

Simply fantastic. Welson Sim becomes the first Malaysian swimmer to qualify for two Olympics events.

Victory for Welson tasted even sweeter as he beat Singapore favourite Quah Zheng Wen in his own backyard.

Zheng Wen, who romped to seven gold medals in the SEA Games at the same venue last year, clocked 1:50.43 for the silver while his compatriot Danny Yeo (1:50.99) took bronze.

Welson had showed signs of what was to come when he posted 1:49.62 to emerge as the fastest qualifier for the top-eight final in the morning preliminaries.

“I’m very happy and proud of what I’ve achieved as this is going to be my first Olympics ... I’m also the first swimmer to make the cut for two Olympic ‘A’ events,” said a delighted Sarawak-born Welson.

On Thursday, he became the first Malaysian swimmer to achieve A qualifying standards since the new system took effect at the 2012 London Olympics when he won the 400m freestyle event in 3:50.33 – smashing his own national record of 3:52.83 set at the World Cup meet in Doha.

Alex Lim Keng Liat had also made the “A” time for men’s 100m backstroke at the 2004 Olympics, but back then a swimmer who meets even the “B” time was assured of Olympic qualification.

National swimming coach Paul Birmingham was delighted to see Welson put up such a superb performance on his way to sweeping both the middle distance titles.

“We tried a different strategy ... went out a bit easier. It worked well. He did 55.3 for the first 100m and 54.3 for the second 100m ... really great splitting,” he said.

Malaysia have also qualified athletes in archery, track cycling, diving, shooting and sailing for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August.

Phee Jinq En also erased her own national record of 1:09.64, set at the World Cup meet in Doha last year, on her way to winning the women’s 100m breaststroke “B” final in 1:08.99.

She was third fastest in the heats in 1:11.04, but had to swim in the consolation final as the rules only allowed two foreigners to race in the “A” final.

The Star : Swimmer Welson qualifies for Olympics in style

BY LIM TEIK HUAT

Welsom Sim first Malaysian swimmer to qualify for the Olympic Games under category A.

PETALING JAYA: Welson Sim has become the first Malaysian swimmer to have qualified for the Olympic Games under category A.

He made the historic breakthrough in the men’s 400m freestyle at the Singapore national age-group swimming championships at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.

Welson also smashed his own national record of 3:52.83, set at the World Cup meet in Doha last November, en route to winning the final in 3:50.33 on Thursday

Taiwan’s An Ting-yao (3:55.45) took silver and Singapore’s Yeo Kai Quan (4:02.18) the bronze.

The 18-year-old Welson thus becomes the first Malaysian swimmer to dip under the Olympic A time of 3:50.40.

He had twice beaten the B qualifying time at the World Cup meets last year.

But those times did not guarantee him a place at the Olympics since the new qualifying system came into effect at the 2012 Olympics in London.

His latest effort would have earned him the bronze at the Incheon Asian Games in 2014 behind the two giants of world swimming – China’s Sun Yang and South Korea’s Park Tae-hwan.

National swimming coach Paul Birmingham, who broke the news, said he was not surprised with Welson’s outstanding achievement.

“I’m really happy with his result. His training over the last six months showed that he could do it.

“It’s just taken him more race practices to get the pacing better.

“I’m thankful to the National Sports Council (NSC) for giving us the funding to race,” he said.

Besides swimming, Malaysia also have representatives in archery, track cycling, diving, shooting and sailing for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Jun Bin progressed well in 44th SNAG 2013

The 44th Singapore National Age Group (SNAG) 2013 was competed few months ago and the competition took place in Singapore Sports School Swimming Complex.

Wong Jun Bin, who has just crossed the causeway in Jan 2013 to take up the scholarship to further his secondary studies in Singapore Sports School, progressed well in the SNAG.

Jun Bin, who trained under China coach, Coach He Tinglan for 2 years since end of 2010 under the PRAKL swimmers' development program has impressive swim records in Malaysia prior to his venture across the border. Coupled with his good academic achievements, that made him a successful recipient of the full scholarship offered by Singapore Sports School at the start of this year.

Prior to this he was coached by IBSC Head Coach, Coach Shazali Salleh.

Jun Bin realised that if he wanted to achieve something, he really needs to work hard for it as there's no short cut to success.

Adapting well to a change of environment in a boarding school, in a matter of less than 3 months, Jun Bin's results in the SNAG speaks for itself. Under the boys 13-14 years category, Jun Bin garnered 1 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze in the annual championship. His results are tabulated below.

Event	Prelim Time	Final Time	Gold	Silver	Bronze
800m Freestyle		8:47.94	1
200m Freestyle	2:01.66	2:01.22		1
100m Butterfly	1:01.59	1:02.00		1
400m Freestyle	4:18.26	4:13.60		1
200m Butterfly	2:15.28	2:14.00		1
1500m Freestyle		17:19.81			1

When asked to describe his experience in the NAG of Singapore compared to Malaysia, Jun Bin has this to say. "Although Singapore is smaller, there are many good swimmers here. So it's challenging for me. In SNAG, I was most satisfied with my 800m freestyle despite being my first time swimming in that event, I managed to swim a good time to get a gold medal."

In the sports school, soft-spoken Jun Bin trains 2 sessions a day and because everything is self-contained in the school, he can do a lot of things in a day. He adapted extremely well in juggling the training with his studies and he finds the schedule in the school very productive even though sometimes it can be tiring.

Jun Bin's first overseas competition was the 36th SEA Age Group Swimming Championship 2012 in Palembang last year, where it was an eye-opening experience for him. During the 36th SEAAG, Jun Bin has the height of his achievement when he secured 2 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze. "It was quite exciting experience as I could see a lot of outstanding swimmers from the SEA region. The competition is much more intense", he said.

Jun Bin (far right) with team mates and Coach Shazali (left) during the 36th SEAAG in Palembang

Jun Bin credited both his parents and coach equally for his success as they have played a big role in his swimming career and contributed a lot of time for him.

He keeps his aim high and set his next target to swim faster than some of the national swimmers.

To the younger swimmers, he advises "Train hard consistently and do what your coach tells you to do."

Proud father, Wong senior with Jun Bin

So far, Jun Bin's list of achievements are :

Swimming Meet	Meet Record	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2007 (Group 5)
PRAKL			1
2008 (Group 5)
PRAKL	1	4
MSSS (Under 10)			1	1
2009 (Group 4)
PRAKL		2	4
MSSS (Under 13)		1	1	1
2010 (Group 4)
PRAKL			5	3
2011 (Group 3)
PRAKL		3		2
MSSS (Under 13)		2	5	1
MSSM (Under 13)		2	3
Sports Excel Grand Final				1
47th NAG			1	1
2012 (Group 3)
PRAKL	4	6	6
MSSS (Under 15)		3	2	1
MSSM (Under 15)				1
Sports Excel Grand Final			4	1
48th NAG	1	7	2
36th SEA Age Group		2	1	2
2013 (Group 2)
44th SNAG, Singapore		1	4	1
49th NAG		1	1	1

Here are some facts about Wong Jun Bin :

Year of birth	:	1999
First learned swimming	:	6 years old
First selection as KL state swimmer	:	10 years old
First overseas competition	:	36th SEA Age Group Swimming Championship in 2012, at 12 years old
Favourite swim stroke	:	Freestyle
Least favourite stroke	:	Breaststroke
Favourite swimming idol	:	Ian Thorpe
Favourite subjects in school	:	Maths and Science
Favourite past time	:	Watch movie/TV
Favourite food	:	Western
Ambition	:	To be an Olympian

Group photo with Ian Thorpe who visited the Singapore Sports School

Jun Bin on lane 4 during SNAG's 400m freestyle final

54th National Schools Swimming Championships 2013 in Singapore

Jun Bin (second from right) with Inter-Schools relay team members from Singapore Sports School

* photos courtesy of Wong Kam Yuen