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.
Accommodations:
Berjaya Duxton Hotel Singapore
