Story by Les Tan and Erwin Wong/Red Sports. Photos by Lim Yong Teck and Clara Yuan/Red Sports

Singapore National Age Group Swimming Championships

Gan Ching Hwee in action during the girls’ 400m freestyle. She clocked 4:39.88 to break a 10-year-old record. (Photo 1 © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)

OCBC Aquatic Centre, Saturday, March 14, 2015 — Gan Ching Hwee, 12, clocked 4 minutes 39.88 seconds to set a new record for 12 year olds in the girls’ 400m freestyle at the Singapura Finance 46th Singapore National Age Group Swimming Championships.

In doing so, she broke the old record of 4:42.95 set 10 years ago on February 19, 2005 by Chriselle Koh. This was her first record of the championships.

Ching Hwee was pushed in the race by her fellow Chinese Swimming Club training partner Natalie Ho Hui Ting who finished just 0.03s behind.

Natalie had earlier managed to set her own mark for 12 year olds in the 200m butterfly, winning in 2:30.83.

Two age group records fell in the girls’ 200m individual medley.

Ashley Lim Yi-Xuan, 10, of Singapore Swimming Club rewrote the record for 10 year olds with a time of 2:46.32, while Charity Lien Tian-Yi of Chinese Swimming Club set a new 12-year-old record of 2:27.38.

It was the latter’s third meet record, and was close to a fourth when she finished just 0.3 seconds off Samantha Yeo’s 100m breaststroke record of 1:15.42.

Ashley, who is in Primary 5 at Nanyang Primary, was particularly pleased with setting two personal bests on the day. “I was happy with my butterfly leg because I set a PB (35.8s),” said Ashley, referring to her 200m IM swim. She then lowered her PB when she swam a 33.81s in the 50m butterfly race.

Two 8-year-old girls got their names into the record books as well.

Lynette Some Xuan Hui of Chinese Swimming Club added two records to the one she set on Day 1. She clocked 41.48s in the 50m backstroke, and stopped the clock in 1:36.97 in the 100m breaststroke.

Lynette would have gotten her third record of the day in the 50m butterfly if not for Jobey Koh Rui Shan. Jobey stopped the clock in a new record time of 41.28s, edging out Lynette who timed in at 41.39s, 0.11s behind. The old mark was 44.08s, set on March 17, 2013, by Tan Zhao Yun.

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