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KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia will have the honour of staging the inaugural Southeast Asian Open Water Swimming Championships (SEAOWSC) from February 2 to 4, 2023.
Organised by the Malaysia Swimming (MS) together with Hybrid Management Sdn Bhd as its event manager and logistics partner, SEAOWSC will see over 400 elite and amateur swimmers from the Southeast Asian region compete at Putrajaya Lake.
The location was also chosen to commemorate the Federal Territories on February 1 and is also the venue that hosted the 7th Asian Open Water Swimming Championship and the 29th SEA Games in 2017.
Malaysia made history there in open water swimming after the national contingent clinched two SEA Games gold medals through Kevin Yeap and Heidi Gan in the men’s and women’s 10km categories.
So far six countries – Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines – have confirmed their participation for the SEAOWSC, which is also sanctioned by the Southeast Asian Swimming Federation.
Six categories will be contested during the three-day tournament comprising of 5km and 10km marathons, while there will also be a 4x1.5km relay event for both men and women.
All eyes will surely be on the marquee event, which is the 10km marathon, where the region’s top swimmers will be vying to become Southeast Asia’s number one.
The 10km distance race is also considered the flagship event due to its inclusion in the Olympics.
Amateur swimmers can also participate in this event through the Federal Territories Swim Day by Neptune X113 on the final day, which is a mass entry 1.5km event open to the public.
MS secretary-general Mae Chen sees the creation of SEAOWSC as an important and positive development for the sport of open water swimming in the country.
“The inception of the SEAOWSC was to bring much-needed exposure to open water swimming in the country as well as the SEA region, besides unearthing new prodigious talents.
“We want the SEAOWSC to be an avenue for swimmers all over the region to test their mettle in a competitive, yet friendly environment,” she said in a statement.
She added that open water swimming has increased in popularity locally and also in the region since its debut at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
“We hope that by having this championship, new talents will be identified and developed to give this sport a boost in the SEA region, and ultimately to have a permanent spot in the SEA Games.”
Putrajaya Corporation president Datuk Fadlun Mak Ujud was also thrilled to welcome another prestigious event there.
“We couldn’t think of a better way to mark this event in conjunction with the Federal Territories Day.
“Putrajaya Lake has previously hosted a number of world-renowned events such as Red Bull Air Race World Championship, F1 Powerboat World Championship, Asian Canoeing Championships and Kuala Lumpur SEA Games,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hybrid Management Sdn Bhd executive director Penny Wong assured that with its vast experience in organising several Neptune X series events before, it can guarantee that the participants’ safety is its utmost priority. – The Vibes, November 28, 2022