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Singapore finishing off their routine in the Team Free event. (Photo 1 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)

Toa Payoh Swimming Complex, Friday, June 15, 2012 — Singapore won the gold medal with their team free routine on Day Two of synchronised swimming at the 1st Southeast Asia (SEA) Swimming Championships.

The free routines does not require predetermined executions and allows teams to highlight their creativity, innovation and strength in the water. Team Singapore did just that, scoring an impressive 35.53 in technical merit and 36.40 in artistic impression to score a combined score of 71.93.

Vietnam won the silver after scoring 63.35 while Myanmar took the bronze with a score of 38.901.

Though Myanmar competed without a full team, they certainly won the hearts of the crowd with their cheerful smiles and enthusiasm. The crowd clapped along to the four-member team’s routine and gave them rapturous applause at the end. Four out of five of the swimmers also represented Myanmar in the 4x100m Women’s Freestyle a few days earlier. K Zin Win, Nang Kham Myat Chu and Thant Thant Su San took to the pool today while Ei Ei Thet was their reserve.

In the Solo Free routine, Singapore’s Crystal Yap narrowly missed out on the gold medal by less than 0.6 points.

2011 SEA Games Gold Medallist Zylane Lee Yhing Huey of Malaysia took the gold after scoring 70.63 points.

Crystal, who won a silver medal at the 2011 SEA Games scored 70.08 to place second, said: “I felt a bit sad, but I guess this is an opportunity for me to work harder next time.”

Singapore Team Roster
Krishnan Mei Shan, Chen Mei Qi Stephanie, Yap Yu Hui Crystal, Lee Mei Shuang, Soh Li Fei Debbie, Chew Wei Ling Geraldine, Chen Mei Qing Natalie, Chen Mei Chuen Samantha, Sung Cui Ying Priscilla, Lim Yue Yan Christine

Results
Solo Free
Gold – Zylane Lee (Malaysia) (70.63 points)
Silver – Crystal Yap (Singapore) (70.08 points)
Bronze – Huynh Minh Trang (Vietnam) (65.46 points)

Team Free
Gold – Singapore (71.93 points)
Silver – Vietnam (63.35 points)
Bronze – Myanmar (38.90 points)

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