KUALA LUMPUR, 12 June 2017:
National swimmer Welson Sim splashed his way to a new men’s 400m freestyle national record at the Mare Nostrum Tour Swimming Championship in Monaco on Saturday.
The 20-year-old Sarawakian clocked 3 minutes 49.48 seconds in the 400m freestyle to renew his own national record of 3:50.33s that was set at the National Age-Group Swimming Championships in Singapore, last year.
Olympic champion Mack Horton of Australia came in second with a time of 3:50.14 seconds while China’s Qiu Ziao settled for third place with a time of 3:51.18s, according to the tournament website; www.montecarlo-swimming.com.
Sim’s victory also received praise from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who hailed the achievement via Twitter.
“Congratulations, our swimmer Welson Sim won the gold medal in Monaco, smashed the National record and beat the Olympic champion on the way,” Najib had tweeted.
The national swimming squad will undergo intensive training and take part in a few competitions in Europe as part of preparations for the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in August.
