CAN SABAH CONTINUE ITS WINNING STREAK?

COACH.....Lim Keng Liat, coach and former olympic swimmer.

By : ELAINE MAH

25 YEARS ago, at age 7, young Lim Keng Liat started swimming, not knowing what the future held for him. 9 years later, he was awarded the Olympic Solidarity Scholarship to study and train at Bolles High School in the United States. That opened the door for him to some proud achievements in a swimming career that has spanned almost two decades.

Following his training in the US he qualified to take part in the Atlanta 1996 Olympics. At the Asian Games in 1998, at age 18, Lim won a gold in the 100m backstrokes, becoming the only Malaysian to have won gold.

In the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games, Lim continued his awesome prowess in the pool, winning a silver medal in the 50m backstrokes. With that win, the Sandakan lad became the first and only Malaysian to win a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games.

In 2004, Lim Keng Liat once again created history by becoming the first and only Malaysian to have qualified for a semifinal in the Athens Olympics. He then went on to be the first and only Malaysian to qualify for a final in 100m backstrokes at FINA world swimming championships in Barcelona, Spain.

Now no longer taking part in competitive swimming, he is the state swimming coach for Sabah, grooming the younger generation towards a career in swimming.

Lim is not the only Sabahan swimmer to make it to world stage. Fellow Sabahans like Elvin Chia and Leung Chii Lin also qualified for the Olympics. Swimmers Marellyn Liew, and Clement Leong, did not make the cut for the Olympics but have nonetheless shown their prowess in the national arena.

Sabah is traditionally known as Malaysia's powerhouse when it comes to swimming. SUKMA 2010 in Malacca proved this, with the state gaining 8 gold medals at the pool. However, the swimming team, made out of 6 elite swimmers fell short of their previous achievements this year at SUKMA Pahang, garnering only 2 golds, 7 silvers and 7 bronze.