The Star : Sarawakian schoolboy smashes 17-year-old record

By LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: Vernon Lee showed there is hope for Malaysia to extend their dominance in middle and long distance men’s swimming discipline with a splashing performance at the just concluded 37th South East Asian age-group swimming championships in Brunei.

Rising star: Vernon Lee is one of the swimmers Malaysia can rely on after a golden performance in the 37th South-East Asian age–group championships in Brunei.

The Sarawakian schoolboy smashed the 17-year-old meet record of 4:01.49 held by former Asian Games gold medallist Torlap Sethsothorn of Thailand in winning the boys’s 16-18 age group’s 400m freestyle event in 3:58.14.

Torlap set the meet record back in 1996 before splashing to a three-gold debut for Thailand at the Jakarta SEA Games the following year as well as an Asian Games gold in 400m freestyle in 1998.

It was the second time Vernon dipped below the four-minute mark for the 400m freestyle and it needed a strong challenge from Thailand’s Tanakrit Kittiya, who pushed all the way to clock 3:58.31 for the silver.

The 17-year-old Vernon also erased the meet record for the 200m freestyle as well, posting 1:52.77 to break the 2011 mark of 1:53.75 held by Vietnam’s Quy Phuoc Hong.

Tanakrit, however, got the better of Vernon in the 1,500m freestyle. Tanakrit clocked 16:00.93 to finish ahead of Vernon, who came in second in 16:07.71 but otherwise had the consolation of also going under Torlap’s previous meet record of 16:18.18 set in 1995.

Indonesia SEA Games gold medallist Kevin Yap is the top Malaysian male swimmer but he can rest easy knowing there is a good replacement when he decides to quit in the future. There is no better proof than the organisers crowning Vernon, the triple gold medallist at the Malaysia Games in Kuantan last year, the best male swimmer in his age-group.

World Championships-bound swimmers Shaun Yap, Christina Loh and Yap Siew Hui also delivered for Malaysia in their pet breaststroke races.

Shaun erased the meet record of 1:05.29 set by Darrin Lam of Singapore last year in winning the boy’s 16-18 100m breaststroke event in 1:05.21. The Selangor swimmer also won the 50m breaststroke race in 30.00 for his second gold in the meet.

Kuala Lumpur lass Christina fell to a surprise defeat in the girls’ 16-18 50m breaststroke, clocking 34.25 but the gold still belonged to Malaysia as team-mate Phee Jing En romped home in 34.11.

Christina, however, made amends by touching home ahead of Jing En in the 100m breaststroke, clocking a winning time of 1:12.38.

Siew Hui, crowned the Best Overall Swimmer in the MSSM (national schools) meet in March, claimed a double in the girls’ 14-15 age group by winning the 50m and 100m butterfly.

The Selangor-born swimmer clocked 28.06 in the 50m butterfly, smashing the 2010 record of 28.34 belonging to Jenjira Srisaard of Thailand.

Siew Hui claimed her second gold in winning the 100m butterfly in 1:02.75.

Singapore were crowned overall champions after ending the three-day competition with 29 gold, 24 silver and 25 bronze medals and nine meet records. Thailand followed closely behind in the seven-country table with 28 gold, 40 silver and 24 bronze medals while Malaysia were third with their total of 24 gold, 18 silver and 15 bronze medals.

BruDirect.com : Singapore Swimmer Champions

Published on Monday, 10 June 2013 09:19 Written by Jake Ten

Bandar Seri Begawan - Over 30 Southeast Asian (SEA) Age Group records were broken at the 37th SEA AG Swimming Championships, as Singapore clung onto their slender lead going into the final day to claim the overall winners title.


Team Singapore topped the seven-team table with 29 gold, 24 silver and 25 bronze, and also shattered nine records to earn the Best Team award.

Despite their overwhelming medal haul of 92, Thailand were forced to settle for second place, losing out by a single gold to Singapore, whilst Malaysia completed the top three with 24 gold, 18 silver and 15 bronze.

Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively, whilst Brunei remained medal-less in seventh.

Thi Anh Vien Nguyen, competing in Group 1 (16-18 years), was the most successful individual at the meet.

Her 11 gold and 2 silver made up for a third of Vietnam's total of 31 medals, whilst Nguyen also broke an astonishing seven Age Group records

Team Brunei enjoyed their own outright success after breaking six national records on the third and final day of the Championships to make it a total of 15 broken over the three days of swimming.

Nur Hamizah Ahmad swam the Girls Group 1 50m backstroke event in 32.95s.

The 18-year-old bettered both her Open and Age Group records of 33.00s, set in June of last year.

Ashley Chai also broke an age group record yesterday after swimming the 50m backstroke in a time of 34.53s.

The 12-year old shaved almost two seconds off her old record of 36.41, set in April earlier this year.

Christian Nikles broke his fifth record of the meet after completing the 100m freestyle event in 55.77s.

The time was enough to eclipse the 16-year olds previous Age Group record of 56.29, set in April 2013, but was not good enough to break the Open record.

The Brunei men's team set a new Open record in the 4 x 100m medley relay after completing the mixed-age group event in 4:23.90. There was no previous record.

The Brunei women's team also set a new Open record of their own after finishing the 4 x 100m freestyle relay in 5:11.52. Despite not registering a single medal, the aquatics head coach of Brunei Darussalam Eric Landa conceded that his swimmers still had plenty of catching-up to do.

"As much as we wanted to earn a medal for Team Brunei, realistically, we have to admit that the other teams were too strong this year for us to pull it off. We collected quite the number of 5th and 6th places here unfortunately," remarked Landa.

The nine Bruneian swimmers quadrupled the number which they had sent to previous events, which was a promising sign for the aquatics head coach.

"If we look in the past and into the nearby future, two years ago we went with two swimmers, no medal. Last year we went with two swimmers and we got one shared bronze medal (Christian Nikles, 50 free),"said Landa.

"This year the competition is definitely stronger than those last two editions and we got no medal again. We competed here with nine swimmers instead of the two in 2011 and 2012.

Landa also felt that the SEA AG Swimming Championships gave some of the younger members of the team some good exposure.

"It's good to see people like Ashley Chai and Haziq Samil enjoying their first competition representing team Brunei here. If this competition would have been overseas, they probably wouldn't have had that chance since, unfortunately, competitions like this are costly and we rely on the government to fund us," explained the aquatics head coach.

"So in that regards, it was good for more swimmers to see and taste what SEA-AG level swimming is all about. It's fast..Very fast. So if you want to be part of that, they know what to do now.. train and race hard!

"Next year the SEA-AG Swimming Championships will be hosted in June 2014 by Singapore, in their then completed sports-hub. Hopefully from the nine swimmers here, many will be able to qualify and do the country proud. And new swimmers, please keep knocking on the door to qualify and keep surprising us!"

Brunei Times : Singapore win 37th SEA Age Group Championships

Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Monday, June 10, 2013

SINGAPORE were crowned champions of the 37th Southeast Asian Age Group Swimming Championships after ending the three-day competition with 29 gold, 24 silver, 25 bronze medals and nine SEA AG records yesterday.

Thailand followed closely behind in the seven-country table with 28 gold, 40 silver and 24 bronze medals, while Malaysia were third with their total of 24 gold, 18 silver and 15 bronze medals at the Aquatics Centre of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas.

Singapore conquered Group 3 (13 years and under) after Darren Chua finished as the best boy with five gold and three silver medals while Tan Jing-E was the best girl after a clean sweep of seven golds.

Vernon Jeau Zhi Lee of Malaysia won the best boy award for Group 1 (16-18 years) with his haul of two gold and two silver medals.

Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Anh Vien claimed the best girl award for Group 1 after her haul of 11 gold and two silver medals, which included seven SEA AG records.

Over in Group 2 (14-15 years), Supakrid Pananuratana of Thailand was the best boy with five gold and one silver medals while Filipino Catherine Bondad was the best girl with two gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

National swim coach Eric Landa was hoping for a medal but is looking on the bright side of things.

"As much as we wanted to earn a medal for Brunei, realistically we have to admit that the other teams are too strong this year for us to pull this off," said Landa.

"We competed here with nine swimmers. We selected them based on easier selection conditions and it is good to see people like Ashley Chai (11) and Haziq Samil (12) enjoying their first competition representing Brunei here.

"If this was overseas probably they wouldn't have had that chance since unfortunately competitions like these are costly and we rely on government funding.

"In that regards, it was good for more swimmers to see and taste what the SEA AG swimming level is all about,"continued the Dutchman.

Three national open records and three age group records were set in yesterday's final day.

Nur Hamizah Ahmad set a new open and age group record after completing the girls' Group 1 50m backstroke with a time of 32.95 seconds, breaking her old time of 33s set last June.

Ashley Chai managed a new age group record in the girls Group 3 50m backstroke after coming in at 34.53s. It bettered her old time of 36.41s set in April earlier this year.

Over in the boys' Group 1 100m freestyle, Christian Nikles set a new age group record with a time of 55.77s. His previous best was 56.29s from April as well.

The other two open records were from the boys' (mixed age groups) 4x100m medley relay with a time of 4:23.90 and the girls' (mixed age groups) 4x100m freestyle relay with a time of 5:11.52.

The Brunei Times

Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Anh Vien in action during the girls' Group 1 (16-18 years) 200m breaststroke event at the 37th Southeast Asian Age Group Swimming Championships.Picture: BT/Yee Chun Leong

Day 3 Results update on 37th SEA Age Group Swimming Championship 2013

Medal tally on final day

Malaysia managed a third position overall with collection of 24 gold, 18 silver and 15 bronze.

WELL DONE TEAM MALAYSIA!

The best swimmer in each category is tabulated below .

See Full Results of 37th SEAAG 2013.

Borneo Bulletin : Four Brunei Swim Records Smashed

Pehin Hazair opens the 37th SEA Age Group Swimming
Championship with a ceremonial cutting and releasing
 of the balloons

Published on Sunday, 09 June 2013 09:26 Written by Jake Ten

Bandar Seri Begawan - Four national records were broken during the second day of the 37th Southeast Asian (SEA) Age Group Swimming Championships at the Aquatics Center of the Hassanal Bolkiah Sports Complex.

Following the opening ceremony for the meet which was officiated by Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hazair bin Haji Abdullah, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Christian Nikles completed the Group 1 (16-18 year old) 50m butterfly event in a time of 27.03s.

The 16-year-old beat his old national Open and Age Group record of 27.27, which was set in June last year.

The result marked Christian's fourth record at the meet alone, after he bettered his own Open and Age Group record of 25.71s, set in June 2012, in the 50m freestyle event with a time of 25.12s on Day One.

Ashley Chai also set a new national Age Group record after completing the Girls 200m backstroke (13 and under) event in 2:43.44.

The 12-year-old smashed Felicia Lee's record of 2:46.31, which was set in May 2006.

Brunei Amateur Swimming Association President
Aziz Latip presenting a souvenir to Pehin Hazair

The Brunei men (mixed age groups) team followed up their 4 x 200m freestyle relay national Open record of 9:03.44 on the first day with another record in the 4 x 100m freestyle relay yesterday.

Team Brunei blew the previous national Open record of 4:26.38, set by the ISB swimming team in February, out of the water with a blistering time of 3:58.24.

Nur Hamizah Ahmad was another record breaker after completing the 100m backstroke event in a time of 1:12.60 on Day One.

The 18-year-old marginally beat her previous national Age Group and Open record of 1:12.65, set back in November 2012.

This is the first time that the Sultanate is both competing and hosting the swimming meet.

The Bruneian contingent is made up of nine swimmers, and as of yet, they are still the only country out of the seven contenders who have yet to win a single medal.

Brunei Aquatics head coach Eric Landa was well aware of the calibre of swimmers his team would be up against and understands that their chances of winning a medal are limited.

"The competition is proving to be of very high quality. Many of the SEA-AG records are being broken during this meet, and the battle for medals is on," remarked Landa following a hectic second day.

"Unfortunately, Team Brunei does not have any medals yet. In 2011 (Vietnam), we didn't have any medals also, and in 2012 (Indonesia), Christian Nikles scored a shared bronze medal in 50-free," he added.

Despite remaining medal-less, Landa was satisfied with his team's progress.

"All of our swimmers are breaking their personal best times and we are seeing so far that nine national records have been broken," revealed Landa.

"The expectations are being met, and so far, I'm content with that. With one more day to go, we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Singapore currently leads the Swimming Championships with 19 gold, 18 silver and 15 bronze.

Following closely in second is Malaysia, who have 19 gold,11 silver and 10 bronze after Day Two, while Thailand are not far off the pace in third with 14 gold, 26 silver and 15 bronze.

Day 2 Results update on 37th SEA Age Group Swimming Championship 2013

Medal tally for day 2

Download Day 2 Results - 37th SEAAG 2013

Instant results can also be viewed from Meet Mobile.

The Brunei Times : New records for Brunei at SEA swim event

YEE CHUN LEONG
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Saturday, June 8, 2013

TWO national Open records and one Age Group record were set yesterday during the first day of the 37th Southeast Asian Age Group Swimming Championships.

Held at the Aquatics Centre of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas, Christian Nikles completed the Group 1 (16-18 years) 50-metre freestyle event with a time of 25.12 seconds.

He beat his old national Open record of 25.28s set back in June last year. The old Age Group record also by him was 25.71s set in April.

The other new Open national record was from the Boys' 4 X 200m Freestyle Relay (18 and Under) after they swam with a time of 9:03.44.

This is the first time the Sultanate is competing in the event. Brunei have nine swimmers in the tournament and are the only country with no medals after the first day.

National swim coach Eric Landa felt that the level of competition has improved over the past two years and knows it will be tough to win medals.

"Today (Friday) was a tough day. I've seen some very fast swimming and it is fun to see some speedy young swimmers in the home pool where we usually train. I believe the competition has been very well organised," said Landa.

"Team Brunei was off to a good start. The nine swimmers all did their very best and many personal records are being broken and that is our aim for this competition.

"A top-five placing is possible, but I honestly see that this year's competition from other countries is tough. "We have more work to do. It is a good wake up call for us as we are still in the developing stage and the team is still training as hard as we can to try and catch up."

Meanwhile, Malaysia are leading the seven-team table with their haul of 11 gold, four silver and five bronze medals.

Singapore follow closely behind with 10 gold, eight silver and four bronze medals while Thailand are currently in third with seven gold, 14 silver and 11 bronze medals.

The other participating countries include Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.

The opening ceremony of the tournament is set for today at 1.30pm. The Brunei Times

One of the swimmers in action during the Girls' 4x200m Freestyle Relay (18 and under) of the 37th Southeast Asian Age Group Swimming Championships yesterday. Picture : BT/Yee Chun Leong

Media Permata : M’sia dominasi hari pertama

8 Jun 2013
Oleh Abdul Rahim Haji Ismail

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, 7 Jun – Malaysia mendahului dalam pungutan pingat emas pada hari pertama Kejohanan Renang Peringkat Umur Asia Tenggara ke-37 yang berlangsung di Kolam Renang kompleks Sukan Negara Hassanal Bolkiah hari ini dengan mengumpul 11 pingat emas, empat perak dan lima gangsa.

Berada di tempat kedua ialah kontinjen Singapura dengan 10 pingat emas, lapan perak dan empat gangsa, manakala Thailand yang menghantar kontinjen teramai dengan 82 perenang berada di tempat ketiga dengan pungutan tujuh pingat emas, 14 perak dan 11 gangsa.

Peserta Singapura memenangi emas untuk acara 50m gaya bebas diikuti peserta Thailand untuk pingat perak dan gangsa. – Gambar Mohammad Abdullah

Pasukan Vietnam berjaya mengutip lima emas, tiga dan tiga gangsa, manakala Filipina hanya mengutip satu emas, satu perak dan tiga gangsa.

Pasukan Indonesia belum mengutip sebarang ingat emas, sebaliknya hanya berjaya mendapat empat pingat perak dan lapan gangsa sementara pasukan tuan rumah Brunei belum mencatat sebarang pungutan pingat.

Sebanyak 34 acara dipertandingkan pada hari pertama kejohanan itu dengan enam acara diadakan pada sebelah pagi bermula pada pukul 9 pagi dan 28 acara lain diadakan pada sebelah petang bermula pukul 3 petang.

Upacara perasmian kejohanan akan berlangsung tengah hari esok dan hadir merasmikannya ialah Menteri Kebudayaan Belia dan Sukan, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hazair bin Haji Abdullah.

Sebanyak 34 acara lagi akan dipertandingkan pada hari kedua esok yang menyaksikan 268 perenang mengambil bahagian dan kejohanan yang akan berakhir 9 Jun ini telah menarik penyertaan tujuh negara.

Day 1 Results update on 37th SEA Age Group Swimming Championship 2013

The 37th SEA Age Group Swimming Championship 2013 has just commenced yesterday, 7 June 2013 at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex Swimming pool in Brunei.

The Malaysian Team did impressively well on day 1 with collection of 11 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze making it the top winning team so far on the opening day.

Download :
37th SEAAG Meet Program
37th SEAAG Day 1 Results

Also check out BASA Brunei Swimming on Facebook.

Kimberly Ong booked a place to 37th SEA Age Group Swimming Championship 2013

Kimberly Ong, a promising swimmer

During the recent National Age Group Swimming Championship in April 2013, Kimberly Ong, 12, was elated when she beat the Group III 50m breaststroke qualifying time of 36.28 by clinching the gold with an improved time of 35.40 to book a place to the 37th SEA Age Group Swimming Championship 2013. This year SEA Age meet will be hosted by Brunei from 7 - 9 June, 2013.

Together with IBSC home-grown swimmers like Ian James Barr, Christina Loh, Tan Gin Yu and Tan Rou Ying, Kimberly will join the Malaysian contingent to Brunei next week. This will be her maiden trip to a swimming meet at the SEA level.

We wish all of them the best of luck!

See Order of Events for 37th SEA Age Group Swimming Championship 2013.