Sea Swim Brings Luke, Ritchie Closer To Sea Games Dream

2019 SSA Open Water Swimming Championships

Stroke after stroke they pulled, pushing through choppy waters for two hours – longer for some, fighting through current and wind that attempted to halt them throughout their 10 kilometre pursuit in the sea in front of National Service Resort and Country Club.

The hard work paid off, however, for Ritchie Oh Rui Zhi, Luke Tan Yu Yang and Erasmus Ang Zhong Qing when they finished top three Singaporeans in the 2019 SSA Open Water Swimming Championships Men’s 10km race within the Philippines 2019 Southeast Asian Games Open Water “A” qualifying time of 2:08:00s, which is the Kuala Lumpur 2017 SEA Games bronze medal-winning time. The Open Water Swimming Championships organised by Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) on 6 April 2019 is the single qualifying event for the 2019 SEA Games. Top two qualifiers will be selected to compete at the biennial Games.

Ritchie and Luke, both Year 1 post-secondary student-athletes in Singapore Sports School’s customised diploma programmes, concluded their swims in 2:00:18s and 2:02:06s respectively. Alumnus Erasmus followed closely behind Luke to end the race in 2:02:49s, while Pek Yi Liang, also an alumnus, came in 5th in 2:05:16s.

In the Women’s category, alumna Chantal Liew Li-Shan dominated the field, pulling ahead to finish in 2:05:27s, about 7s ahead of Sports School IBDP Year 6 swimmer Regine Goh Xuan Xuan who finished 2nd in in 2:12:29s.

Two weeks prior, Maximillian Ang Wei, a Year 2 Diploma in Sport Management programme student-athlete, met the SEA Games “A” qualifying time for the Men’s 200m Breaststroke at the 2019 Singapore National Age-Group Championships en route to setting a new National Record.

RESULTS

Men’s Open Water 10km

1st – Ritchie Oh Rui Zhi

2nd – Luke Tan Yu Yang

3rd – Erasmus Ang Zhong Qing

Women’s Open Water 10km

1st – Chantel Liew Li-Shan

2nd – Regine Goh Xuan Xuan