Swimmer Richard wins silver at Asian meet

Swimmer Richard wins silver at Asian meet

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian swimmer Richard Sam Bera won a silver
medal on Friday in his favorite discipline, the men's 100 meters
freestyle, at the Sixth Asian Swimming Championships in Pusan,
South Korea.

Richard clocked 51.37 seconds, behind Kim Min-suk of South
Korea with 51.14 and ahead of Wu Nien-pin of China Taipei with
51.37.

The 1999 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games record holder swam 0.34
seconds slower than his best time recorded in Brunei Darussalam.

Friday's swim was also 1.07 and 0.71 seconds slower than his
times in the World Short Course meets in Berlin and Paris
respectively.

"I really wanted to win the gold but my time was not as fast
as I hoped. Considering my preparations, where I had to divide my
time between practice and work, the result is fine," Richard told
The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview.

However, Richard was disappointed with the jury and the event
organizers in general.

"The result on the score board said I had finished first, but
I was not included in the medal ceremony because the jury said I
had finished fourth. After we protested, I was awarded second
place," he said.

"It's really disappointing. Pusan, as the host for the 2002
Asian Games, doesn't even have backup system, with a photo finish
facility and backup timing."

Teammate Albert Christiadi Sutanto only managed to finish
sixth in the men's 400m individual medley after clocking 4:36.44.
Jin Hao of China grabbed the gold after clocking 4:22.79 followed
by Kim Rang-hyun of South Korea with 4:24.50 and Tomonori
Tateishi of Japan with 4:25.78.

In the men's 100m breaststroke, Elvin Chia Tshun Thau of
Malaysia won the gold after finishing first with a time of
1:03.79. Cheng Hao of China took the silver in 1:04.70 and Sato
Shigenori of Japan earned the bronze in 1:04.95.

China -- comprising of Deng Qingsong, Quyang Kunpeng, Zheng
Shibin and Jin Hao -- won the 800m freestyle relay in 7:31.08,
followed by South Korea with 7:31.96 and Japan with 7:41.46.

In the women's 100m freestyle, Han Xue of China clocked 56.28
to win the gold followed by South Korean Jang Hee-jin with 56.92
and Yevgeniya Yermakova of Kazakhstan with 57.03.

China earned three more gold medals on Friday. In the women's
100m breaststroke, Qi Hui finished first with 1:09.94 followed by
Byun Hye-young of South Korea with 1:12.15 and Luo Nan of China
with 1:12.36.

In the women's 400m individual medley, China collected another
gold from Chen Yan with 4:46.09, followed by South Koreans Lee
Jee-hyun Korea with 4:48.76 and Nam Yoo-sun with 4:48.88.

In the women's 800m freestyle relay, the Chinese team of Qin
Caini, Zhang Yan, Zhan Shu and Chen Yan clocked 8:15.96 for the
gold. Japan and South Korea earned the silver and bronze medals
after clocking 8:22.24 and 8:23.05 respectively. (yan)