Welson eyes Jeffrey Ong’s 1,500m freestyle record.
Welson out to break Jeffrey’s long standing 1,500m record
PETALING JAYA: It’s the one national record that has eluded many swimmers and Welson Sim is game to give it a shot.
The Malaysian Open in Bukit Jalil next week presents Welson with the opportunity to erase the oldest standing national record held by Jeffrey Ong in the 1,500m freestyle.
Jeffrey clocked 15:23.61 when he took silver in the World Games in Sheffield, England in 1991.
The 22-year-old Welson is cutting short his training stint in Melbourne alongside reigning Olympic champion Mack Horton to compete in four events – 100m, 200m, 400m and 1,500m freestyle.
Welson is in good shape to shatter the record judging from his ability to dip under the 15 minutes and 30 seconds mark for the first time en route to the gold medal at the New South Wales Swimming Championships last month.
Welson clocked an encouraging 15:29.76 as his previous personal best two years ago was 15:31.10 clocked at the Singapore national age-group meet.
The Sarawakian admitted that his desire to break the record was the reason why he included the event in his programme.
“It will be nice to finally break the record but I will not forget my main priority – to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics under the A time (automatic qualification).
“I hope to make the A time in the 200m and 400m freestyle.
“The Malaysian Open will be my first chance as it is an Olympic qualifying meet,” said the KL 2017 double SEA Games gold medallist, who has also qualified for the World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, South Korea in July.
It will be nice to finally break the record but I will not forget my main priority – to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics under the A time.
Welson Sim