Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah para swimming team made the State proud when they brought back 17 gold medals which surpassed their target of 13 golds at the 21st Malaysia Para Games (Para Sukma) in Sarawak.
Sabah Para Swimming Association President Jonathan Wong Kar Gee said he is very proud of the team for such a remarkable feat as well as bringing home seven silver and three bronze medals.
He said winning 17 golds which tallied with Sarawak in the swimming category, is the highest for Sabah compared to the last edition two years ago when the team only won 12 golds. Eva
“I am very pleased with the team’s achievement for surpassing the gold medal target as they have been training very hard for the Para Sukma.
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“I always tell them to trust in their training, do the best they can and try to enjoy as much as they can. I also advise them not to feel so much stress and fight for themselves,” he said.
Jonathan said this to reporters after welcoming home 21 para swimmers at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) on Saturday night.
According to him, only 21 returned home while another two were nominated for overall Best Athlete as one of them had won four golds and set four records.
“This year, the team almost beat Sarawak who also won 17 golds but the hosts had won more silver and bronze medals,” he said.
Jonathan, who is also an international level para athlete in the long jump, said some of them will compete in the Malaysia Para Swimming Open in the peninsula in December this year.
He said the swimmers are taking part in the competition to better their performance as they are getting ready for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics.
“Normally it’s just a preparation as they are trying to improve their performance a bit more so that they can easily qualify for the LA 2028 Games,” he said.
Meanwhile, head coach Eva Wong Hie Ming told reporters that apart from winning 17 golds and surpassing the target set by the Youth and Sport Ministry, they set 15 new records comprising eight Sukma meet and seven national records.
She said she was proud of the team’s achievement as they won more gold medals than two years ago.
“I can say that the team did better this year. The factor is important, because last year we lost our best swimmer. Jeffrey Jigo who passed away, he’s a very good swimmer.
“So this year is really tough for us because our relay event, we only got silver and bronze. Because normally if we have him, I am positive that we can get our gold medal.
“That’s why our team is quite emotional at that time. So this time when we swim, all of us prayed for him,” Eva said.
According to her, some will be prepared to face December’s Malaysia Para Games Open and a few to represent the nation are being selected to go for the next year’s Asian Youth Para Games in Uzbekistan in October and the Under-18 Asian Youth Para Games.
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