KUALA LUMPUR – With five weeks remaining before the qualification deadline for the Paris Olympics, Malaysia Aquatics (MAS) assures that opportunities for female swimmers are still open, even though meeting the Olympic Qualification Time (OQT) may pose a challenge.
MAS secretary-general Andy Low said that while it may be challenging for national female swimmers to meet the OQT by June 23, there is still hope of securing a slot in Paris through Universality Places, previously known as wild card slots.
Andy revealed that they currently have several candidates for this slot, limited to only one male and one female swimmer.
For the male slot, swimming sensation Khiew Hoe Yan is expected to secure the position based on his recent performances.
He broke the national record in the 400m freestyle with a time of 3 minutes 48.36 seconds and the 800m freestyle with a time of 8 minutes 01.30 seconds at the Australian National Championships last April.
As for the female slot, Andy explained that the situation is more open.
While seasoned swimmers like Phee Jinq En, who competed in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021, are contenders, the final decision remains pending.
“The opportunity is there, but we have to wait until June 23 for official confirmation, and at this time, we cannot disclose our candidates.
“For the male category, Hoe Yan may be expected, but for the female category, the slot is still open because we did not anticipate having this special category slot,” said Andy.
He added that existing female swimmers still have several competitions, including the Malaysia Open (May 23-26) and the Singapore Artistic Swimming National Age Group Championships 2024 (June 20-23), to prove themselves.
During the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, besides Jinq En, another swimmer who competed in the sporting event was Welson Sim.
However, both of them were eliminated in the preliminary rounds. – May 14, 2024