By Erwin Wong/Red Sports
Lynette Lim laughs at a reporter’s question at the recent Asian Youth Games. (Photo © Marvin Lowe/Red Sports file photo)
Local teenage swimmer Lynette Lim has had an illustrious year so far, winning 2 gold medals at the inaugural Asian Youth Games in late June, and then being part of 4 national record-setting feats at the World Championships a month later.
The US-based Lynette, who turned 17 on April 25th and attends Palm Springs High School in California, currently holds the national mark for the 800m and 1500m Freestyle, and is also in the 4x100m Freestyle, 4x200m Freestyle and 4x100m Medley relay teams which are in the record books.
She kindly agreed to an interview with Red Sports, and we bring it to you right here.
Red Sports (RS): Congratulations on your great performance at the recent World Championships. 2 individual national records, 2 relay national records and a personal best in the 200m Butterfly. Which one was your favourite?
Lynette: My favorites were the 4x200m Freestyle relay because we broke the record by so much (16.32 seconds) and the 800m Freestyle because I wasn’t expecting to drop in that event.
RS: Describe the experience in Rome at the Worlds. How does this compare with your first World Championships 2 years ago in Melbourne?
Lynette: The trip to Rome was a lot of fun, but I enjoyed Melbourne more because the weather and hotel were nicer and the hotel was more central. The actual swims were more amazing to watch in Rome, but I will always remember Melbourne the best because it was my first meet that I represented Singapore in.
RS: With all the furore and talk about the bodysuits that surfaced this year and especially in the championships, what is your take on it? Are you for or against these non-textile bodysuits?
Lynette: I really like the non-textile suits, the blueseventy in particular, but I guess it is to my advantage that they are being banned because I am small, and apparently they help bigger swimmers more.
RS: Your main stroke seems to be freestyle but you do swim a mean butterfly as well. Which one did you start with and which one is your favourite, and why?
Lynette: My main stoke was butterfly at first when I was 10 years old. The 100 fly was the first event in which I made to the Junior Olympics, an age-group meet, but by the time I was 12, I was already good at distance free. My favorite is freestyle because it is not as painful as fly.
RS: What events will you be taking part in at the South East Asian (SEA) Games later this year, and what will your targets be?
Lynette: In the SEA Games, I will be taking part in the 400m Freestyle, 800m Freestyle, and 4x200m Freestyle relay. I want to try my best and I am aiming for best times.
RS: You have already set more than a few national distance records, and have taken part in big meets like the Worlds and Olympics. What else do you hope to achieve in this sport, and by what age?
Lynette: I would like to improve enough to reach the final in a major international meet like the Olympics or Worlds.
RS: You’re 17 this year, with many things going on for you in life. What keeps you going in this sport of competitive swimming?
Lynette: I enjoy competitive swimming because it is fun, especially at these team trips, and because I like dropping time.
RS: Who do you look up to in the swimming world, and why?
Lynette: I look up to my sister in swimming because she was the person who got me into swimming and she had to train by herself in the morning for years; she was the first of our team to go to morning practice.
RS: What more do you think can be done in the development of local swimmers in Singapore?
Lynette: I think the training pools in Singapore should be made cooler so that the swimmers can train harder and better. Aside from the pool at the Singapore Sports School, all of the pools I swam in were uncomfortably hot.
RS: When you are not in the pool, what will you be up to?
Lynette: When I am not in the pool, I am usually reading, shopping, playing on the computer, or doing homework.
National records:
800m Freestyle: 8 mins 42.16 seconds
1500m Freestyle: 16:41.49
4x100m Freestyle: 3:46.91 (with Koh Hui Yu, Quah Ting Wen, Amanda Lim)
4x200m Freestyle: 8:09.91 (with Quah Ting Wen, Amanda Lim, Mylene Ong)
4x100m Medley: 4:12.35 (with Shana Lim, Roanne Ho, Quah Ting Wen)
Lynette probably has a point about the training temperature of pools. I know that FINA has specified that competition pools must be at a fixed temperature (sorry, don’t know what it is). I can see how water temperature could impact a swimmer’s ease in the pool if they were competing in a pool much colder than their training pool.
Go Lynette!
She should be slotted in the 4×100 Free at the SEA Games. She is part of the teams that holds the 2 fastest times. Tao Li was not listed in Zaobao as swimming the 4×100 Free, so it should be Lynette, Ting Wen, Mylene and Amanda. Actually, Lynette should swim the 200 Fly as well. Her time swam at Worlds is already the 2nd fastest among active Southeast Asian swimmers (behind Tao Li)
Congrats to Lynette for the fabulous achivements. I am pretty sure there is more to come from her.
Rather amusing her reply about most pools being uncomfortably hot aside from the pool at the SSS. My daughter usually says the opposite – uncomfortably cold at the SSS but soothingly warm and nice in the sun-baked outdoor pools. I guest she has to start getting use to cold water if she ever wants to be a champion like Lynette…hehehe.