KUALA LUMPUR: National swimming sensation Welson Sim has clocked the season’s best and the meet record of 1:47.97s in the men’s 200m freestyle at the 2018 Malaysia Open Swimming Championship on Saturday.
The 21-year-old from Sarawak also won the 1,500m freestyle yesterday with a time of 16:18.35s to complete a treble, having won the 400m freestyle on Thursday at the National Aquatic Centre, Kuala Lumpur Sports City in Bukit Jalil.
Welson said that he was surprised with the 200m freestyle record-breaking win despite nursing a leg injury.
“Initially, I was hoping for 1:50s and did not expect to do 1:47s. It was a shock for me and this will motivate me to do better at the Asian Games (in August).
“This is the second time I have broken records this season, both occasions in the country. Unfortunately, I was not able to do it at the Commonwealth Games, otherwise I could be in the finals,’’ said Welson.
Sajan Prakash of India bagged the silver in 1:51.44s followed by bronze medallist Yeap Zheng Yang (1:52.77s) of Selangor.
Despite being just 0.61s away from his national record performance of 1:47.36s, Welson considered the result as good and he hoped to maintain the momentum in the next tournament.
He also teamed up with Vernon Lee Jeau Zhi, Hii Puong Hou and Job Tan Xi Jay to win the bronze medal for Sarawak in the men’s 4x100m freestyle.
Meanwhile, Angela Chieng bagged two silver medals yesterday in the women’s 800m freestyle and 200m butterfly, with times of 9:20.26s and 2:23.94s respectively. — Bernama