Meeting qualifying times alone not enough to maintain edge: Tan

SINGAPORE — A total of 16 swimmers met the qualifying times in their respective events at the 10th Yakult Singapore National Swimming Championships to be in contention for next year’s SEA Games, but national assistant coach Gary Tan warned it is no longer enough just to meet the benchmarks.

The six-day meet — the first of three local qualifiers for the 2015 SEA Games — at the OCBC Aquatic Centre concluded last night. It also saw siblings Quah Zheng Wen and Quah Ting Wen named the meet’s male and female MVPs respectively.

But despite the high number of swimmers making it under qualification entry times, Tan warned it is no longer enough just to meet the qualifying criteria — set as the bronze medal timings of the previous SEA Games — as Singapore’s regional rivals have been narrowing the gap.

“Some of the times posted by our swimmers at this swim meet are faster than the times clocked over at (ongoing ASEAN University Games in) Palembang and I am glad,” he said. “We are on the right path in our speed of progression, but that does not mean we are guaranteed to be the best again. We need to work harder for the remaining two qualifiers.”

Sharing Tan’s sentiments was national swimmer Ting Wen, who said she was not satisfied with her overall performance. The 22-year-old, a multiple SEA Games gold medallist, swam under 2015 SEA Games qualifying times for five events (50m and 100m butterfly, 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle), while her 18-year-old brother Zheng Wen had five bids for qualification slots in the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke, 50m and 100m butterfly events.

“I am pleased, but disappointed too. I have high expectations of myself and was hoping for better times,” said Ting Wen. “But I take something out of each race, such as how to tweak and fine-tune my turns and my strokes, so will definitely look to go for lower times when the SEA Games come around.” ADELENE WONG