SEA Games: Debutant Teong Tzen Wei wins gold in 50 free, hopes to break Schooling's record one day
REPORTING FROM KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
Singapore’s swimmers added two golds and three bronze medals to the tally on the penultimate day of the SEA Games swimming competition at the National Aquatic Centre on Friday (25 Aug).
Debutant Teong Tzen Wei won the 50m freestyle in a time of 22.55 seconds, also a personal best timing. This is also the first time all three medallists went below 23 seconds in this race. “I’m really so happy that months of hard work finally paid off,” said the 19-year-old. “I think with this time, I’m in for Asian Games 2018. That will be my next goal. I’ll try to hit the under-22 mark,” he said.
The SEA Games record, set by Joseph Schooling in 2015, stands at 22.47s. “It would have been great to break Jo’s record today. I really look up to Jo… Just to imagine how he could perform at such a high level at the Olympics and win a gold medal against Michael Phelps is just a testament to how good he is, and I really look forward to beating him one day,” said Teong.
Fellow debutant Gan Ching Hwee, 14, won a bronze in the 400m individual medley in a personal best timing. “It’s a really pleasant surprise because it’s been a really tough competition this past few days,” she said. “It’s my first time competing in the SEA Games and I actually came here without any expectations. So I’m actually very excited for the next few SEA Games to come,” she said.
Samantha Yeo who broke two national records over two days of the swimming competition at the 2017 SEA Games added a bronze in the 200m breaststroke.
Pang Sheng Jun took bronze in a personal best time in the 400m Individual medley.
In the final event of the night, the quartet of Hoong En Qi, Yeo, and sisters Quah Jing Wen and Ting Wen ended the night with a gold in the 4x100m medley relay final.
The win was a particularly emotional one for Hoong. “I was trying to aim for a personal medal but I missed out in my own swims. I was really overwhelmed that I could be part of this relay team and help the team to get a gold medal,” she said as she wiped away tears.
This evening brought Singapore’s total medal tally from aquatics to 20 golds – its best ever showing at an ‘away’ SEA Games. The previous record was 19 golds from the 2011 SEA Games in Palembang, Indonesia.
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