Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
EIGHTY-THREE swimmers braved the rain this morning to compete in the Brunei Marathon Swim, the country’s first ever international open water swimming competition.
Organised by Tri3bn with event partner BruActiv, it was also the first ever open water swim event to be sanctioned by the Brunei Amateur Swimming Association (BASA) with FINA (World Swimming Federation) standards used as the guidelines.
Held in the open water at the Berakas Forest Reserve Beach, a number of national records were set at the event which attracted swimmers from some parts of the world including Australia, Malaysia, Philippines, France, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
Mohammad Abdul Rahman Salleh (R) is the new national record holder in the men's 10km event. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
The main event, men’s 10km race, was won by Malaysia's Rupert Tan with a time of 1:33:44.58 while Malaysian-based Spanish swimmer Jose Luis Larrosa Chorro finished second crossing the line on 1:37:28.29.
Meanwhile, Serge Dominichini from France took third place with a time of 1:59:23.37.
Mohammad Abdul Rahman Salleh, who came in fourth position, set the fastest time for the local competitors after crossing the finish line on 2:12:48.34 for a new national record.
The women’s 10km event saw Nirus Leah as the only competitor and she completed the course setting the national record at 3:04:38.27.
Nirus Leah (R) was the only competitor in the women's 10km event. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
Leah previously had only competed in the 3km category last year was not expecting such a time in her first ever 10km event.
“I was actually expecting to finish around four hours and 59 (minutes) and I think it will finish under that time frame. I didn't expect to finish around that three hour mark,” said Leah in an interview with Brusports News after the race.
“The water condition was really good even though it was raining...and the race was delayed and even during my third set it was raining as well, but it was all good,” she added.
Heath Meldrum of Australia clocked 50:09.36 to win the men’s 5km event with Bruneian Jeremy Joint Riong finishing second, setting national record at 58:39.98.
Matthew Eric Letham completed the podium with his time of 1:08:12.36.
Nur Amal Nadhirah Abdul Rahim (R) was also the only competitor in the women's 5km event. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
Nur Amal Nadhirah Abdul Rahim was the only competitor in the women’s 5km event and she crossed the line with a new national record of 1:43:22.57.
The men’s 2.5km was won by Md Danial Fadzillah Md Fadillah completing the court with a time of 31:46.39.
Nicholas Guillio of France finished second with a time of 37:00.04, while, Zainal Azim Zainal Abidin was just 7.7 seconds behind.
Nur Hamizah Ahmad (R) was the winner of the women's 2.5km event. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
Nur Hamizah Ahmad finished at the top of the podium of the women’s 2.5km event with a new record time of 32:10.79 followed by Pengiran Nina Jasmine over 21 minutes behind.
Over in the 1.5km race, Ian Guillio of France won men’s category on 24:55.07, while, over in the women’s category Leong Wan Ying clocked 25:17.23 to win the race.
Complying with FINA rules and regulations, technical and safety officials, and equipped with electronic timing, this is the first time Brunei’s swimmers have set national open water swim records.
Co-founder of Tri3bn, Faizal Hj Ahmad, was pleased with the turnout at today’s event.
“We have 83 swimmers for this very first event in Brunei and we have some swimmers from outside too. I am very happy and expect the number to increase next year,” said the organiser.
“I am very happy and the most important thing is that everyone swan and came back safe.
“I would like to say thank you to the organising team, especially the BASA team, police department, fire department and the Kayak safety team and all the sponsors and vendors for helping organise this big event,” he added.
Former national swimmer, Jeremy Joint Riong (R), who represented Brunei at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, now holds the national record for the men's 5km event. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
The winner of the 10km event won a cash prize of BND300, a gold medal and finisher’s shirt.
Second place winner received a cash prize of BND250, silver medal and finisher’s shirt, while, third place, received bronze medal, a finisher’s shirt, and cash prize of BND200.
In the 5km race, champion received gold medal and cash prize of BND200.
Second place received silver medal and a cash prize of BND150, while third place, received bronze medal and cash prize of BND100.
Presenting the prizes was Awang Ahmad Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Bakti Di-Raja Dato Laila Utama Haji Awang Isa, the Vice President of BASA.
