The Star Sport : Teen sensation Hoe Yean wants to rule in 800m too

PETALING JAYA: Swimming sensation Khiew Hoe Yean (pic) is ready to make the 800m freestyle his new pet event.

The 18-year-old backstroke specialist showed he is just as capable in the middle distance freestyle disciplines with a stellar performance at the Malaysian Open last week.

While smashing former Asian Games gold medallist Lim Keng Liat’s 23-year-old record in the 200m backstroke was something expected from Hoe Yean, his record-breaking feat in the 800m freestyle was nothing short of extraordinary.

Swimming alone and competing for the first time in the event did not stop him from logging a creditable 8:06.00, bettering Welson Sim’s 2019 national record of 8:08.77.

Besides making the Olympic Selection Time (OST) of 8:08.54, that effort would place Hoe Yean seventh at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.

This achievement augurs well for Hoe Yean in the future as the event is expected to be featured in more major multi-sport Games.

The men’s 800m freestyle was previously only contested at the World Championships, but it had since been included in the 2018 Asiad and is set to make its debut at the Tokyo Olympics.

“I already have a number of pet events, so I wouldn’t mind adding the 800m free into the list,” said Hoe Yean.

“I’m very pleased to have set a new national record on my first attempt but rest assured there will be more to come.

“There’s one Vietnamese (Asian Games bronze medallist Nguyen Huy Hoang) who’s really fast, so it’s good to have a superior competitor to look up to and keep myself motivated.”

Apart from the 800m, Welson’s dominance in his two other pet events could be under threat if Hoe Yean keeps trending in the right direction.

Hoe Yean signalled his intention to hunt down Welson’s two national records in the 200m freestyle (1:47.36) and 400m freestyle (3:49.29) by triumphing over the latter last week

Hoe Yean’s victories came with personal bests of 1:49.38 in the 200m freestyle and 3:51.56 in the 400m freestyle.

He will be keeping his fingers crossed that the Vietnam SEA Games will proceed as scheduled as he is eager to prove himself on the international stage.

In his debut in the Philippines two years ago, Hoe Yean clinched two bronzes medals – in the 200m backstroke and 4x200m freestyle.

TAGS / KEYWORDS:

Khiew Hoe Yean , Swimming , Freestyle , SEA Games

Swimming: Teen sensation Hoe Yean wants to rule in 800m too | The Star

The Star Sports : Hoe Yean’s unstoppable in the pool as he breaks national record again

By TAN MING WAI

PETALING JAYA: Teen sensation Khiew Hoe Yean is simply unstoppable as he capped off a superb week at the Malaysian Open swimming championships with another national record.

And he did it in style as the record fell in his first attempt in the men’s 800m freestyle.

Despite swimming alone, the 18-year-old managed to clock 8:06.00 at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukil Jalil yesterday to erase Welson Sim’s previous mark of 8:08.77 in 2019.

Hoe Yean’s effort made the Olympic Selection Time (OST) of 8:08.54.

Impressive feat: Khiew Hoe Yean clocked 8:06.00 in the men’s 800m freestyle event of the Malaysian Open at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukil Jalil.

On Saturday, Hoe Yean broke the 23-year-old record held by Welson in the 400m freestyle.

With barely an hour of rest, Hoe Yean returned to the pool and outpaced Welson in the 200m freestyle when he touched the wall in a brilliant 1:49.38, way ahead of second-placed Welson who managed 1:50.64 – a far cry from his own national mark of 1:47.36 in 2017.

Hoe Yean did better than his previous personal best of 1:51.26 and it earned him another OST as his effort was well under the 1:50.23 qualifying mark. Hoe Yean was delighted with his performance after netting four personal bests on his first return to competition since the National Age-Group Championships in March last year.

“It feels great. It’s my first time swimming the 800m free but my target was to break the record. I was however surprised but satisfied with my 200m free,” said Hoe Yean.

“Every single competition is real even though there’s no spectators or competitors. I will always take every meet seriously.

“I’m very pleased because I showed improvement each day and ended the meet with four personal bests. I will build on it!”

Hoe Yean has just given Malaysia Swimming (MS) a good reason to pick him instead of Welson for the Olympics.

Currently, Welson and Phee Jinq En are the only Malaysian swimmers who have made the OST list based on their results at the 2019 Sea Games in the Philippines but the national body intend to use the universality places allocation, where they can recommend one male and female.

Asked if he harbours hope of securing his Olympics debut, said Hoe Yean: “ I don’t know about it but I believe I have done my best by swimming as fast as I can. The rest is beyond my control.”

The NST : Smashing show by Hoe Yean

 By Kng Zheng Guan - June 13, 2021 @ 9:00am

Khiew Hoe Yean on his way to setting a national record in the 200m backstroke at the Malaysian Open yesterday.

Youngster Khiew Hoe Yean was not even born when Lim Keng Liat set the 200m backstroke national record at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok.

But it could be the start of a new era after the 18-year-old rose superbly to smash Keng Liat's long-standing 23-year record.

Hoe Yean, who only turns 19 in September, came flying out of the blocks despite being the sole competitor in the event at the Malaysian Open at the National Aquatic Centre, Bukit Jalil yesterday.

The Kuala Lumpur-born kept his focus from start to finish as he finished with an excellent time of 2:00.08 to rewrite Keng Liat's record of 2:00.94.

To make it even sweeter, Hoe Yean also dipped under the Olympic Selection Time (OST) of 2:01.03 to further boost his chances of an Olympic debut in Tokyo next month.

It was certainly a coming of age performance from Hoe Yean, who first came to attention when he won seven gold medals at the Asean Schools Games in 2019.

He had also grabbed a bronze in the 200m backstroke event at the Philippines Sea Games the same year.

It is also the second event that Hoe Yean has met the OST

standard, having also hit

the mark in the 400m freestyle event on Friday.

"I definitely did not expect this since I was the only one in the pool. However, I knew I could break the national record as I had done a similar pace in training," said Hoe Yean, who also smashed the Malaysian Open record of 2:02.68, set by India's Srihari Nataraj in 2019.

"But it is still a surprise as I have not swum competitively for more than a year.

"As for the Olympics, I'm not sure if I will get to go, but I would love the opportunity."

Hoe Yean, who also bagged eight gold medals in the national age-group championships last year, has two more events to make a further impression — the 200m and 800m freestyle events today.

Meanwhile, Welson Sim grabbed his second win of the competition even though he was far from his best.

The Sarawak-born came up tops in the 100m butterfly in 56.38s to add to his 100m freestyle gold.

RESULTS

Men's 50m breaststroke: 1 Ng Jing Fu 29.79sec, 2 Hii Puong Wei 29.87, 3 Nuri Saadan Khaulid 31.79;

50m freestyle: 1 Hii Puong Wei 24.47, 2 Samuel Ng 24.76, 3 Yap Yong Jie 25.51;

100m butterfly: 1 Welson Sim 56.38, 2 Low Zheng Yong 56.90, 3 Jordan Yip 56.94;

200m backstroke: 1 Khiew Hoe Yean 2:00.08;

400m IM: 1 Sebastian Soon 4:31.69, 2 Low Zheng Yong 4:40.91, 3 Anselm Lee 4:54.77.

Women's 50m freestyle: 1 Angelina Chan 27.62;

100m butterfly: 1 Ong Yong Qi 1:04.74;

200m backstroke: 1 Nessa Yip 2:33.53;

400m IM: 1 Ong Yong Qi 5:09.36, 2 Kelly Teo 5:12.49.

Stadium Astro : Renang Terbuka Malaysia - Hoe Yean cetus peluang lebih besar tempah tiket

Renang Terbuka Malaysia: Hoe Yean cetus peluang lebih besar tempah tiket

Shaiful Shamsudin

Jun 11, 2021 20:50 MYT

Renang Terbuka Malaysia: Hoe Yean cetus peluang lebih besar tempah tiket

Perenang muda, Khiew Hoe Yean, melakar kejutan di Pusat Akuatik Nasional Bukit Jalil pada hari ini apabila melepasi had kelayakan kategori 'B', Sukan Olimpik Tokyo 2020 dengan mengungguli acara 400m gaya bebas Terbuka Malaysia menerusi catatan 3 minit 51.56 saat.

Lebih manis, dia menewaskan pemegang rekod kebangsaan, Welson Sim, yang mewakili Sarawak terpaksa berpuas hati dengan pingat perak.

Tempat ketiga pula milik Sebastian Soon dari Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur.

Kejayaan itu juga bermakna bekas pemenang lapan emas Kejohanan Renang Remaja Peringkat Umur Kebangsaan pada tahun lalu tersebut memperbaharui catatan peribadi terbaiknya dengan kelebihan 1 saat.

Apa yang menarik, Hoe Yan dan Welson masing-masing melepasi had kelayakan kategori 'B' Sukan Olimpik lalu secara tidak langsung menimbulkan persoalan, siapa yang akan mengisi slot ke Tokyo bulan depan?

"Ia satu perlumbaan yang hebat. Saya sendiri memberikan 7 daripada 10 markah, ada sedikit peningkatan.

"Sudah tentu saya berhasrat ke Sukan Olimpik. Saya berpeluang dan tidak bimbang dengan persaingan kuota memandangkan jurang kemenangan saya kali ini ialah enam saat.

"Sejujurnya ia jurang yang agak besar, iaitu ketinggalan kira-kira enam meter," kata Hoe Yan.

#Renang#Sukan Olimpik Tokyo#Khiew Hoe Yean

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The Star Sports : Relief for swimmers as meet will finally go on behind closed doors

 By LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: After months of restless waiting, the national swimmers can finally let off steam with the Malaysian Open swimming championships allowed to proceed.

The meet will take place at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil behind closed doors from tomorrow and will provide the chance for the swimmers to gauge their form after more than a year without any competition.

It will also be an Olympic qualifying meet for Tokyo Olympics hopefuls like Welson Sim and Khiew Hoe Yean.

For Welson, it is likely to be the only chance he has to try to improve on his Olympic Selection Time (OST) of 3:49.55 which he clocked for his silver medal run in the 400m freestyle at the Philippines SEA Games in 2019.

The SEA Games was the last major competition for the national swimmers before Covid-19 reared its ugly head around the world.

The Malaysian Open last year was cancelled because of the pandemic.

Malaysia Swimming secretary Mae Chen was relieved they managed to get the go-ahead from the National Security Council (MKN) and Youth and Sports Ministry to have at least one Olympic qualifying competition for the swimmers.

“We had to rearrange the dates a few times but we are thankful to MKN and the Youth and Sports Ministry for allowing us to hold the event.

“It will run under very strict SOP and will only be for the national swimmers who are already under quarantine at Bukit Jalil together with their coach Chris Martin.

“We will have 21 swimmers taking part and it’s going to be like a selection trial for them.

“We also got all the letters done for the officials involved and they will sign a pledge to stick to travel only between the venue and their homes as well as doing swab tests.

“In normal times, we will place them in a hotel but we are not able to because of the current MCO.”