Story by REDintern Nicole Lum and Erwin Wong/Red Sports. Photos by Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports, Matthew Lau/Red Sports and Jerald Ang/Red Sports
Quah Ting Wen warms up prior to the women’s 100m freestyle final. Her timing of 56.11 seconds topped the field and secured her a nomination for the event at the 28th SEA Games. (Photo 1 © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)
OCBC Aquatic Centre, Thursday, March 19, 2015 — Quah Ting Wen swam a fast time of 56.11 seconds to win the women’s 100m freestyle super final at the Singapura Finance 46th Singapore National Age Group (SNAG) Swimming Championships to qualify for the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
The 22-year-old first broke the meet record for the 18 years old and over with a time of 56.54s in the morning heats, before rewriting the mark in the evening finals.
It was Ting Wen’s fastest time since non-textile swimsuits were banned in 2010. She holds the national record of 55.57s set in 2009, and has also clocked times of 55.65s, 55.80s and 56.03s in the era of the now-banned supersuits.
“They were both good swims but I’m not 100 percent satisfied. Though they are okay for now, I would like to go below 56s eventually,” she said. “Even though I don’t know how much can change, I’m aiming to do just that at next week’s Spanish Open. I’ll just swim fast and race hard and try to get as much race experience as I can.”
When asked about her preparation for the Games, Ting Wen says that she is not 100 percent ready for it yet. “There’s always room for improvement, especially the small things. But I know what I can improve on now,” she added.
Amanda Lim finished second in 56.90s, and will also qualify for the SEA Games by virtue of her 56.51s swam at the Singapore National Swimming Championships (SNSC) in December 2014.
Hoong En Qi broke the meet record for the 15-17 year olds with a time of 57.32s. The Singapore Sports School student felt that it was a good swim, as she bettered her previous personal best (PB) by a massive 1.15 seconds. “I had great water feel. I also tried to pace Amanda who was swimming right beside me, although she’s faster.” The 15-year-old will be swimming the 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle at the upcoming National Schools Swimming Championships.
Another swimmer who significantly improved on her PB in the 100m freestyle was Chan Zi Yi, who smashed the meet record for 13-14 year olds when she swam a 58.67s in that age group final. Her timing shaved off nearly a second from the previous meet record of 59.62s, while her previous PB of 59.85s also fell by the wayside.
“It was a good swim. Although the first lap was tiring, I listened to my coach and went all out. I thus had a headstart ahead of everyone right from the beginning, and it felt good to see that,” said the Methodist Girls’ School student. She will swim the 100m and 200m freestyle at the Schools Nationals in April in her bid to land her school the divisional title.
Ting Wen and Amanda, by virtue of being the two fastest swimmers in the SEA Games qualifying window, have confirmed their places in the 4x100m freestyle relay. Nur Marina Chan (57.25s), En Qi (57.32s), Christie Chue (57.78s) and Rachel Tseng (57.97s) are in contention for the two remaining spots.
In the women’s 50m backstroke, Tao Li set a new meet record of 29.43s for the 18 years old and over in the morning heats, but was defeated by defending SEA Games champion Shana Lim in the final, who touched 0.01s ahead of Tao Li in 29.49s.
While both of them qualified for the SEA Games, Tao Li was disappointed in her swim.
“I didn’t expect it. My suit tore before the final, and I didn’t have time to change into a new one. It wasn’t in the right position and it affected me. Also, I only took four strokes from the flag to the wall, instead of my usual five,” she explained.
However, Tao Li remained positive about her preparation for the Games. “In a small meet like this, it’s a little embarrassing for me not to do well. But I rather make mistakes now than later at a bigger meet like the SEA Games, so that I still have time to think about it and improve.”
Next week, Tao Li will head back to Kunming, China to continue her high-altitude training under the province’s coach. She believes that it has helped her as it is also more convenient with less travelling to do.
Hannah Quek set a new meet record for 15-17 year olds when she finished fourth in 30.83s.
Roanne Ho will be at her first SEA Games since 2009 when she qualified for the 100m breaststroke. She finished first in the super final in a time of 1 minute 13.44 seconds, which is the second fastest time clocked during the qualifying window. America-based Samantha Yeo, with her 1:12.28 at the Asian Games in September 2014, has the fastest.
Kathlyn Laiu twice broke the meet record for the 13-14 year olds. She swam a 1:14.19 in the heats and 1:14.00 in the final to rewrite Christie Chue’s year-old mark of 1:14.41.
For more details of the event, go to: www.facebook.com/swimsnag
More photos next page
Leave A Comment