Longtime records fall at club championships

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A slew of enduring age-group records fell on the first day of the 27th Swimming Clubs Championship on Tuesday, with officials saying it may mark a revival in national swimming.

Harizal, 14, Pratama Siahaan, 12, Ali Fatkurrohman and Yesy V. Yosaputra, both 10, all set new marks in their age groups at Bung Karno Swimming Pool in Senayan, Central Jakarta.

Harizal, who was part of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games contingent to the Philippines in December, bettered his own three-month-old record in the boys' 100-meter backstroke age group II from 1:02.93 to 1:01.35.

Ali, competing in the boys' 100-m backstroke age group IV, clocked 1:12.61 to surpass the 13-year-old record of 1:14.08 of Hendrik S.

Yesy set a new record in the girls' 100-m backstroke age group IV, her time of 1:13.17 improving on the 1:14.31 set by Yuliana Dj. 11 years ago.

Pratama, with a time of 1:02.26 in the boys' 100-m butterfly age group III, broke Wisnu Wardana's 17-year-old record of 1:02.59.

Organizing committee chairman Buchori Nasution said the results showed the emergence of a new generation of swimmers with potential.

"That's one of the reasons why we're holding the championship," he said.

Although Kristiono, a former national swimmer and a judge at the event, concurred that it was a positive sign, he noted that it took many years to set the new marks.

"Ideally, new records should be set every year because it means that the development of swimming is continuing," he said. "We have to admit that our swimming development is still stagnant."

Kristiono's statement is backed by the country's results at the SEA Games. Veteran male swimmers contributed most of the medals, including Richard Sam Bera, 34, in the 100-m freestyle; Donny B. Utomo, 26, in the 200-m butterfly, as well as 30-year- old Felix C. Sutanto, as a member of the 4 x 100-m medley relay squad.

Women's 800-m gold medal winner Magdalena Sutanto, 17, was the only teenager to win a gold.

More than 100 swimming clubs from across the country are taking part in the championships, which run until Friday. Over 900 swimmers will participate in 172 events, consisting of 146 individual and 26 medley events.