SINGAPORE — The haze has not only affected sports events in Singapore, but also national swimmers’ chances of qualifying for December’s South-east Asian Games in Myanmar.
The Singapore National Swimming Championship, originally scheduled to be held at the Singapore Sports School from June 25 to 30, has been tentatively postponed until further notice.
This will affect the preparations of top national swimmers like Zach Ong, Amanda Lim, Quah Ting Wen and Tao Li, with nominations for the SEA Games closing at the end of this month. Qualification for next month’s World Championship in Barcelona is also affected, unless swimming’s world body FINA grants an extension to its end-June deadline.
The championship’s organising committee Chairman Ang Peng Wee said: “Although the meet is important, more important are our athletes and people involved in the meet.”
Yesterday, the haze remained in the “hazardous” range after a three-hour Pollutant Standards Index reading of 401. If the situation improves, organisers say the swimming championship could proceed as originally scheduled. But national swimmers TODAY spoke to are concerned.
“It’s not good. If we taper too long, we lose our fitness,” said Ong, 22, who is aiming to qualify for the men’s 100m and 200m backstroke at this year’s SEA Games. “But it’s hard to train and maintain our fitness in this haze as many pools are closed, and we may have to train nearby overseas and come back when the meet is on again.”
Lim, who qualified for next month’s World Championship in the women’s 50m freestyle event, had planned to use the nationals to improve on her qualifying time of 26.03secs.
“We’re all making our own adjustments to cope with the haze, but postponements will definitely affect my preparations,” said Lim, who is aiming for a third consecutive 50m freestyle title at the SEA Games. About 250 swimmers are expected to compete in the swimming championship.
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