Story by Jiexin Neo/Red Sports. Photos by Lim Yong Teck and Clara Yuan/Red Sports

55th National Schools Swimming Championships A Division 200m Backstroke

Quah Zheng Wen of ACS(I) swimming in the second leg of the A Division 200m backstroke final. Zheng Wen set a new record with his timing of 2 minutes and 4.24 seconds. (Photo 1 © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)

Singapore Sports School, Tuesday, April 22, 2014 — Quah Zheng Wen of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) completed his A Division 200 metres backstroke final in 2 minutes and 4.24 seconds at the 55th National Schools Swimming Championships to claim gold.

In the process, Zheng Wen rewrote his own meet record of 2:04.49 set last year. For this event, his 2011 B Division meet record of 2:09.16 is still unbroken.

Gerald Chua of Anglo-Chinese Junior College came in over 17 seconds after Zheng Wen to clinch silver, while Joshua Koh of Raffles Institution finished third in 2:27.59.

Zheng Wen is the national open and under-17 record holder in this event, with his time of 2:01.18 set in 2012. The national swimmer, who has competed at the 2012 Olympic Games as well as the 2011 and 2013 Southeast Asian Games, ensured the race went according to the form book.

He finished his first lap four seconds ahead of the others, extended his lead to eight seconds by the second lap and was 25 metres away from the closest contender in his third. He touched home 17 seconds earlier than the others to claim an easy gold, registering his second fastest time of the year.

Gerald and Joshua, on the other hand, stuck by each other closely from the start of the race. Gerald only managed to pull away from Joshua in the second half of the race, completing it six seconds ahead of Joshua to clinch silver.

Zheng Wen said: “I’m a little disappointed with it because the time I won was three seconds shy of my best time. But thinking about it, being in year six and having a time of work and not really training much anymore, I guess it isn’t really that bad after all. I guess I’m pretty okay with it, but, (I’m) kind of neutral. I definitely want to thank my coach, my parents, some of my squad mates and definitely my friends who have shown me support throughout my entire journey in swimming. Without them, this would definitely have not been possible.”

A Div 200m Backstroke (Boys) Results
1st Quah Zheng Wen [Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)] — 2:04.24 (championship record)
2nd Gerald Chua Deng Xiang (Anglo-Chinese Junior College) — 2:21.82
3rd Joshua Koh Tze En (Raffles Institution) — 2:27.59
4th Sean Chua Rong Qin (Anglo-Chinese Junior College) — 2:27.95
5th Teng Hao Yang (Anglo-Chinese Junior College) — 2:30.10
6th Paxton Yeo Neng Ming (Catholic Junior College) — 2:41.54
7th Leong Zhi Sheng (Anglo-Chinese Junior College) — 2:42.55
8th Oh Yao Wei (Pioneer Junior College) — 2:43.66

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