Singapore, 6 March 2006 – China continued its winning ways at the MILO® Asia Swimming Championships, sweeping Gold in every event except for the Women’s 50m butterfly race. That event was won by up and coming Singaporean swimmer Tao Li who fended off her compatriot and South East Asian Games swimming star Joscelin Yeo.
The 16-year-old displayed determination and composure to win the Gold medal. They swam before a home cheering crowd, who were expecting to see more medals after Tao Li and Joscelin Yeo registered the two fastest qualifying times in their morning heats. The Gold medal also marked a first ever for Singapore in the history of the Asia Swimming Championships.
The Singapore men’s freestyle team finished third fastest in the heats to qualify for the final. The team consisting of Bryan Tay, Thum Bing Ming, Gary Tan and Marcus Cheah eventually fought off the Korean team and posted a time of 7:52.48 to win the Silver medal.
Earlier, China added more medals to their tally with wins in each but one of the events today. Tang Jingzhi set a new Asia Swimming Championships record in the Women’s 200m Freestyle. Her time of 2:00.45 seconds eclipsed the previous record (2:01.05) set by compatriot, Lu Bin, in the same competition in 1992.
Synchronised swimming saw their first winners after the first day of competition at the Toa Payoh Swimming Complex. China’s Hu Ni won the first Gold of the night in the Solo Technical Routine with a score of 93.00. Singapore captured their first medal in synchronised swimming with a bronze in the Team Technical Routine (score of 69.00 points). That event was eventually won by China with a score of 93.00 points.
The MILO® Asia Swimming Championships is held at the Singapore Sports School from March 5 – 10. The Synchronised Swimming events will be held at the Toa Payoh Swimming Complex from March 6 – 9.
