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Swimming calendar needs more meets, say Adrian, Schlanger

SINGAPORE — While many top golf and tennis names feel the annual calendars of their respective sports are too congested, Nathan Adrian and Melanie Schlanger believe swimming’s calendar can do with more meets.

Nathan Adrian. Photo: Wee Teck Hian

Nathan Adrian. Photo: Wee Teck Hian

SINGAPORE — While many top golf and tennis names feel the annual calendars of their respective sports are too congested, Nathan Adrian and Melanie Schlanger believe swimming’s calendar can do with more meets.

The pair were the stand-out performers at the inaugural Prudential Singapore Swim Stars at the Sports Hub’s OCBC Aquatic Centre last night.

Three-time Olympic champion Adrian of the United States won the men’s 50m and 100m freestyle in 21.72secs and 48.46 respectively, while Australia’s Schlanger clinched the women’s 50m (24.67) and 100m (53.51) freestyle.

Speaking afterwards, Schlanger, part of Australia’s women’s 4x100m freestyle relay quartet which triumphed at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, felt having more of such meets on the annual swimming calendar would benefit the sport’s development and profile.

“I don’t think (it would be too much),” said Schlanger, responding to a query from TODAY. “Most years, we have one major international meet, so additions to the schedule will be quite reasonable and swimmers would have a lot of fun with it. With the big prize money as well, there’s a lot at stake.”

Adrian, the men’s 100m freestyle gold medallist at the London Olympics, also told TODAY: “After a bit of a lacklustre performance at the Pan Pacific Championships, this gives me a little bit of energy and motivation ... especially after coming here and seeing how exciting it is to win and coming away with an awesome (Zenith) watch. I want to do it again!”

The Prudential Singapore Swim Stars offers one of the highest cash rewards, with a total prize purse of US$140,000 (S$175,000), excluding the US$20,000 payout for a world record. Winners of the men’s and women’s 50m and 100m freestyle races also earn US$10,000 each, with winners of the other races pocketing US$5,000 each.

Hosts Singapore had five national swimmers in the fray, including Amanda Lim, South-east Asia’s fastest female swimmer, clocking 25.66 in the 50m freestyle heats, missing her national record of 25.38 set at the 2009 Asian Youth Games. But it was not enough to see her qualify for the semi-finals. “It felt like an Olympic final to me,” said the three-time SEA Games 50m freestyle champion. “But I told myself I’m swimming against myself and tried to stick with them as much as I could.”

The Prudential Singapore Swim Stars continues with the children’s clinics at various schools and a relay swim-off today at the OCBC Aquatic Centre (10am to 6pm), as well as an open water race at the Sea Sports Centre at Changi Coast Walk from 8am to 11am tomorrow. JEAN IAU

Visit http://www.sportsswim.com for full results.

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