KUALA LUMPUR – Loo Yie Bing and Tan Rouxin showcased incredible performances as they scored a hat-trick at the National Aquatics Centre, Bukit Jalil here, today
Representing Sabah, Yie Bing secured her second and third gold medals after winning the women’s 100m freestyle and the 50m butterfly respectively.
She clocked 57.64s in the 100m freestyle and 28.38s in the 50m butterfly.
Yie Bing’s first gold medal in this Sukma edition came when she won the women’s 200m freestyle yesterday.
Despite her impressive feat, Yie Bing expressed her disappointment as she could not better her own national record in the women’s 100m freestyle, which she set during her outing at the Malaysian Invitational Age-Group Championships in June.
“I could not control my breathing and it slowed me down a bit. I could have done better, but I was nervous,” she said when met after the event.
Yie Bing disclosed that she had twice been offered by the National Sports Council to join the national team but declined them.
She said she would prefer to balance her school studies and swimming practice.
Instead of going for national status, Yie Bing dreamed of becoming a veterinary doctor to help animals.
“I plan to pursue my tertiary education overseas and take up a course in veterinary after my Malaysian Certificate of Education either in the United Kingdom, Australia, or the United States.
“Swimming will not be my career as I would like to become a veterinarian as I want to help animals.
“I adopted a dog previously but unfortunately he died last year due to sickness,” she said.
However, Yie Bing has not closed the door on representing the country as she aims to participate in the SEA Games.
Similar to Yie Bing, Johor swimmer Tan Rouxin also scored a hat-trick in the swimming events.
She secured her second and third gold medals in the women’s 200m backstroke and the women’s 200m individual medley today.
Rouxin clocked 2m 22.14s in the 200m backstroke and 2m 20.55s in the 200m individual medley respectively.
She won her first gold medal in the women’s 100m breaststroke yesterday. – The Vibes, September 20, 2022
