| By Leonard Lim | |||
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SOME athletes' victories are achieved with little tension and histrionics, but Singapore swimmer Quah Ting Wen is fast making a habit of winning in dramatic fashion.
Three weeks after setting a 200m freestyle national mark and winning at the National Championships despite a torn swimsuit, she replicated the feat yesterday on the bigger stage of the Asian Youth Games - and in a new suit too.
Trailing South Korean Kim Jung Hye from the start until the final turn, Ting Wen, who finished fastest in the morning heats, had the 500-strong partisan crowd worried. The split times on the clock above the Singapore Sports School pool put the two swimmers neck and neck after 150m: Jung Hye clocking 1min 28.87sec, with Ting Wen a mere hundredth of a second behind.
But unknown to most, AYG head coach David Lim was not alarmed by the close tussle.
He was right not to. For Ting Wen's late surge as per his instructions saw the 16-year-old touching home first in 1:59.21, nearly a second better than her previous national record of 2:00.14.
The victory - just like Lynette Lim's national record and gold in the 400m free a day earlier - sparked wild celebrations in the crowd, who included Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan.
Dr Balakrishnan presented the gold medal to Ting Wen later. Jung Hye finished in 1:59.93 for the silver, while Lynette was fourth in 2:03.53.
'I was nervous in the first lap, and panicked after the first turn,' admitted Ting Wen.
Still, she resisted the temptation to make up ground. The strategy had required her to hold back till the second half of the race, before making her powerful charge to the wall.
She carried out the race plan to perfection.
Swimming in Lane Five next to Ting Wen, Jung Hye's lead grew in the second lap, with the largest gap at the 100m mark - 58.21sec to Ting Wen's 58.48sec.
'But I held back like the coach told me to, and saved my legs for the last 50m,' said Ting Wen in her trademark quickfire tone.
After touching the wall and turning nervously to look at the clock, the Raffles Institution (Junior College) first-year student covered her face momentarily as the ecstasy of her accomplishment sunk in. Her time was also better than the 2006 Asian Games gold-medal mark of 1:59.26.
Coach Lim was full of praise for her, especially as the win and record came just a few weeks after a tiring few months that started with the National Age-Group Championships in March.
'From then till now, she's broken the record three times,' said Lim, a former Olympic backstroke specialist. 'It's a testament to her dedication and hard work.'
At last month's National Championships, Ting Wen discovered a small tear down the right side of her Speedo LZR suit - which led to more drag - just minutes before her 200m final.
'This time, I made sure I checked my suit carefully before the race,' she said. 'I spent half an hour putting it on instead of the usual 20 minutes.'
Clutching an AYG mascot plush toy presented to all medallists, she said she would pass it to brother Zheng Wen, 12, and sister Jing Wen, eight, who were watching in the stands.
They might not need to share it for long though, as Ting Wen is primed for more medals in the 50m free and the 100m free over the next few days.
