SWIMMING HIGHS

By Parker Lam, TS Athlete Columnist
Edited by Jeannette Xavier

In the first of several columns by Team Singapore athletes, Parker Lam, national record holder for the Men's 100m Breaststroke, shared his experience of catching our SEA Games swimmers (pictured) on television as they competed in Laos. Here he offers some highlights from the pool.

Full Of Excitement
The swimming action in Laos was full of excitement everyday, with many high moments. A few, in particular, stood out for me. Quah Ting Wen, as expected, got us to a flying start with gold in the competition's opening event, the Women's 100m Freestyle.  On the same day, Zach Ong fired things up for the guys with a surprise gold in the Men's 200m Backstroke.
There was more to come in the days ahead. Lynette Lim's gutsy win in the Women's 800m Freestyle was a lesson on how to fight back after an earlier loss. She had narrowly missed the gold in the Women's 400m Freestyle. Amanda Lim shone in the Women's 50m Freestyle with her win over her more illustrious teammate Ting Wen who ended up with five gold medals. Tao Li too won five events, showing fighing spirit in the Women's 200m Butterfly in particular with her brave comeback. Less experienced swimmers like Joshua Lim, Samantha Yeo and Koh Hui Yu more than held their own against seasoned opponents.

Hard Work
One may say that the suits must have helped in some ways but, at the end of the day, suits don’t make swimming champions. Hard work and determination do. Apart from the highs, there were some disappointments, especially for those who came close to winning a medal but did not.
Such is the uncertainty of sports. Although we do our best to thoroughly prepare, we can only estimate the performances of our rivals and can never be sure if they will pull out a surprise. Even so, there is a lot of potential for many of our swimmers if they continue to work hard and persevere.
 
New Heights
The Singapore team made an impression as they won 14 golds, 8 silvers and 11 bronzes to edge out strong rivals like Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The arduous months of training definitely paid off. I felt proud to see my fellow swimmers stand on the podium to receive their due recognition.
With the Asian and Commonwealth Games coming up in 2010, may Swimming in Singapore scale new heights. And may we rule the pool again in the 2011 SEA Games - and clinch all six relay gold medals (compared to the five won in Vientiane).