KUALA LUMPUR – Teenager Andrew Goh killed two birds with one stone in the 65th Malaysia Open Swimming Championships at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
The 19-year-old made waves when he set a new national record of 28.10s in the men’s 50m breaststroke event to erase the old mark of 28.59s that Wong Fu Kang had set in 2016.
More importantly, it saw the teenager book his ticket to the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan on July 14-30 as his national mark surpassed the Category B qualifying mark set by World Aquatics.
The Selangor swimmer, who will make his SEA Games debut in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in May, however, had to be content with a third placing after finishing behind Indonesian Felix Viktor Iberle (27.65s) and Namibia’s Ronan Zuberge Wantenaar (27.84s).
Andrew, who also won gold in the 2022 Southeast Asia Age Group Swimming Championships, admitted that he never expected to qualify for the world meet.
“Since I was a seven-year-old, I’ve always dreamt of qualifying for the world meet and the Olympics... now I’ve turned 19, it is like a dream come true. I’ve trained really hard with my coaches (and) I guess it has paid off.
“It is not just luck, (it) is all about determination. Right now, I can see myself improving,” he said.
Since the championships began on March 10, Andrew has bagged five medals – two bronzes in the men’s 50m and 200m breaststroke, and three silvers in the 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x100m individual medley, and 4x200m freestyle relay.
Meanwhile, national swimmer Khiew Hoe Yean clocked 57.12s to clinch a silver medal in the men’s 100m backstroke, with Taiwan’s Liang-Yun Wu (56.44s) taking gold and Sarawak’s Hii Puong Wei (58.79s) settling for bronze. – Bernama, March 15, 2023
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