Indonesia head of the class at schools swimming c'ship

Indonesia head of the class at schools swimming c'ship

JAKARTA (JP): Young Indonesian swimmer Hendrik Eko AP sealed
his team's domination of the fourth ASEAN Schools Swimming
Championships by winning the boy's 50m freestyle on its final day
on Wednesday.

Indonesia won 12 golds, 12 silvers and seven bronzes to top
the medal standings, followed by archrival Thailand in second
place with 11 golds, 10 silvers and 12 bronzes. Malaysia was
third with six golds, five silvers and eight bronzes.

Underdog Vietnam finished fourth with one silver and one
bronze, but newcomer Brunei Darussalam was left to return home
empty-handed.

Indonesian supporters, including journalists, officials and
the chairman of the organizing committee, Sri Sudono Sumarto,
shouted ecstatically as they watched Eko, 17, touch home in 24.78
seconds, which was also a new personal best. He won his first
gold in the 100m freestyle on Tuesday.

Sudono said the result was extraordinary because it was
Indonesia's first overall championship title since it began
competing in the event in 1993.

In the last championship in Thailand two years ago, Indonesian
swimmers earned one silver and three bronzes.

"We did the right thing by proposing Jakarta to host the event
in a meeting in Subic, the Philippines, in 1997. We said
Indonesia had few swimming competitions. We did not know that the
country would be hit by the economic crisis the following year,
but look at the results now. The swimmers were motivated by their
last performances in the SEA Games in Brunei, and also the
support of the spectators," he said.

Eko's compatriot Steven Chandra remained atop the medal tally
in the boys' individual event after he earned one more gold on
Wednesday in the 200m freestyle in a time of 1:58.34. He already
collected three golds in the 400m freestyle, 1,500m freestyle and
200m butterfly.

M. Akbar Nasution also won another gold in his favorite event,
the 100m breaststroke, sharpening his personal best in a time of
1:06.09. Akbar earned two golds earlier in the 200m individual
medley and 200m breaststroke.

In the girls' event, Thailand's Pornlada Srisawat and
Malaysian Siew Yi-ting shared first place in the medal standings
with three golds each.

Pornlada earned one more gold in the 200m freestyle on
Wednesday, clocking 2:09.82, while Siew also won the 100m
breaststroke with 1:16.33.

Commenting on the poor performances of Indonesian's girl
swimmers, Indonesian Swimming Association (PRSI) deputy
secretary-general Kristiono Sumono said the swimmers performed to
their maximum capabilities in the event.

"They are our best girl swimmers. They are still very young.
However, they reached the limit of their capabilities in this
championship. They still have the chance to improve," he said.

Radja M. Nasution, coach of the Pari Sakti swimming club, said
that the girl swimmers' achievements surpassed their predecessors
at the same event two years ago.

"The result is better than two years ago, where we only got
one silver from Akbar. Maybe it's because we field the SEA Games
swimmers in this competition," said Radja, who is also Akbar's
father. (ivy)