| Fadhil Yunus |
MALAYSIA swimmer Tan Rupert emerged champion of the inaugural Brunei Marathon Swim 2018 after clocking a time of 1:33:44.58 in the 10km male open at the Berakas Forest Reserve Beach yesterday.
Jose Luis Larrosa finished as first runner-up with a time of 1:37:28.29 while Serge Dominichini settled for third place with a time of 1:59:23.27.
Heath Meldrum secured top place in the 5km male open after posting a time of 50:09.36 while Brunei’s Jeremy Joint Riong captured second place with a time of 58:39.98 which was a new national record.
New Zealand’s Matthew Eric Letham took third place with a time of 1:08:12.36.
Four national records were also accomplished during the race with Nur Amal Nadhirah binti Abdul Rahim setting the benchmark for the 5km female open with a time of 1:43:32.57.
Brunei’s Md Danial Fadzillah bin Md Fadillah won the 2.5km male open after recording a time of 31:48.39 and in the process setting a new national record ahead of France’s Nicolas Guillou and Zainal Azim bin Haji Zainal Abidin who finished second and third, respectively.
Nur Hamizah binti Ahmad clinched top spot in the female open with a time of 32:10.79 earning her a new national record.
Meanwhile, Ian Guillou took top honours in the 1.5km male open while Leong Wan Ying grabbed first place in the female open.
Brunei’s Amnahliyani Husain also accomplished a new national record in the 1.5km female open with a time of 30:28.56 to go with her second place finish.
The Brunei Marathon Swim is the first ever international swim marathon in Brunei Darussalam.
Organised by Tri3bn with event partner BruActiv, it was also the first ever open water swim event sanctioned by the Brunei Amateur Swimming Association (BASA), using FINA (World Swimming Federation) standards.
BASA had sent two officials for an Open water Technical Official FINA course back in March 2018 to oversee this event.
The objective was to increase awareness in aquatic sports in Brunei Darussalam and to raise Brunei’s participation in aquatic events within this region.
A total of 83 local and international swimmers from Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines, France, the United Kingdom and New Zealand participated in the event.
Presenting the prizes was Vice President of BASA Ahmad bin Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Bakti Diraja Dato Laila Utama Haji Awang Isa.
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.
The meet hoped to empower and inspire the swimming community, especially the younger athletes, to train well, achieve better results, and to encourage and spur national swimmers to greater heights.