A newfound belief

SINGAPORE — He gave the media a wide berth last week at the 2014 Singapore National Swimming Championships (SNSC), even after he had bettered his Under-17 national record in the 100m freestyle.

When in the zone, Darren Lim is a coiled spring, singularly focused on becoming Singapore’s fastest swimmer. For someone who never believed he could achieve much in swimming, the attention he has received in the past year takes some getting used to.

A year ago, he came within a whisker of Ang Peng Siong’s long-standing 50m freestyle record of 22.69 sec, his 22.73 becoming the second-fastest swim over that distance in 31 years. Ang’s record, set when he was 19, still stands, but with Darren having turned 16 two months ago, even the Singapore swim legend has tipped the teenager to be his rightful successor.

While the tag of “heir apparent” is a badge of honour for some, for Darren, it is still something he is coming to terms with and may learn to embrace as he grows — as a person and a swimmer.

In an hour-long interview with TODAY, a chatty and warm Darren opened up about his personal transformation since moving to England in August to further his studies at Plymouth College. There, the 1.78m-tall teenager is also a member of the Plymouth Leander Swimming Club and is under the tutelage of head coach Jon Rudd, whose proteges include Lithuania’s Olympic gold medallist and world champion Ruta Meilutyte as well as British freestyle sprint record holder Ben Proud.

Even in a short three-and-a-half months, Darren has felt a change in his mindset. Where in the past he would “hate himself for days” after losing, he now finds himself bouncing back quicker after setbacks and able to psych himself up for the next race.

With six months to go before his second SEA Games, Darren believes he is on the right track to shine when it matters and stay on course for 2016 Rio Olympics qualification.

“I have a world-class coach now, I am more confident and less nervous, and I am improving,” said Darren. “At this point in time, I hope to get to the semis of the 50m free at Rio and see what happens after that.”

At Plymouth, Darren trains daily in a group of 15 swimmers, which includes Proud, the 50m free and fly gold medallist at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

“I am enjoying my time in Plymouth. In the past, I felt very pressurised. I feared losing a lot. Now, I can overcome it and turn it into motivation to do better. It is all in the mind. I think the team spirit and sporting culture at Plymouth helped me — it is really great, my team-mates are very supportive and motivate me all the time.”

Under pressure to break Ang’s record since that swim last year, Darren now takes the weight of expectations in his stride.

“It felt really great when I came close then and I was hoping to break it that year at the Asian Youth Games (in August) or the SEA Games (in December),” he confessed.

While he won four medals at the AYG — clocking 23.09 for gold in the 50m free — his SEA Games debut in Myanmar yielded only a relay gold in the 4x100m free and fifth in the 50m free, where his 23.58 effort was reported as a disappointment by an expectant media.

Under the guidance of Rudd, who was also head coach of the England swim team at this year’s Commonwealth Games, Darren hopes to refine his swimming technique to zip through the water quicker.

“I can go faster,” he said. “I am still finding the perfect technique for the 50m free in terms of my stroke. I think there is still something wrong about it. The training at Plymouth is a whole new different level. Every session under Jon is unpredictable, not monotonous, and makes a lot of sense.

“I remembered doing two sets of 50m free without catching my breath within two minutes and my head was hurting after that. But I tried it again at the SNSC last week and I’m certain I’ll be doing the same again in future meets.”

It was at the SNSC at the OCBC Aquatic Centre last week that his sister Shana took some flak for shielding Darren from the media.

Shana, 21, who is also making her competitive comeback and aiming for a spot in the 2015 SEA Games, felt the media had been quick to judge Darren after his Myanmar outing.

“People are quick to praise him when he did well and quick to criticise him when he didn’t. But they forget that he is only so young and I want him to be able to have his space,” she said.

However he is written up, Darren wants his swimming to do the talking, even as he recalls never believing he could get far in the sport.

“I never expected to be a national swimmer,” he said. “Not that I disliked swimming, but I never thought I would achieve anything in it, so I did not take it seriously then. But now, I believe I can. If I could describe myself — I am determined, disciplined and committed.”