For Immediate Release
SINGAPORE, 3 Sept 2018 – Athletes from the National Canoe Sprint Team delivered a historical bronze medal and beat several personal best records at the 18th Asian Games in Palembang, Indonesia.
The paddlers outdid their previous best performance (WK4 500m, 5thplace) at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. The fruits of their labour came to fruition given the recent podium finish at the Asian Games and several close wins for our paddlers.
Spectators got a glimpse of the Republic’s potential from the start of the competition; Deborah Saw (WK1 500m) finished a respectable 7thplace despite an injury that crippled her chances of a better standing.
Men’s duo, Lucas Teo and Brandon Ooi were edged out of a bronze medal by Uzbekistan, settled for fourth place with a timing of 3 minutes 31.123 seconds.
2015 Asian Canoe Championships bronze medalist, Xatia Lim finished 8thin the final of the WC1 200m with a timing of 55.571 seconds.
Three-time Asian Games participant and five-time SEA Games gold medalist, Stephenie Chen narrowly missed out on a bronze medal by mere milliseconds (0.07 seconds) behind Japan in the WK1 200m finals.
2015 SEA Games gold medalist, Mervyn Toh clinched a bronze in the MK1 200m with a time of 36.314 seconds, behind South Korea (gold) and Kazakhstan (silver). Mervyn’s bronze is the first medal to be won by canoeing at the regional meet.
Former 2012 Olympian, Geraldine Lee, and two-time SEA Games gold medalist, Sarah Chen, made a good effort with a 6thplace finish in the WK2 500m event, crossing the finish line in 1 minute 54.609 seconds.
The two ladies raced once more along with compatriots Stephenie Chen and Soh Sze Ying in the WK4 500m event. Finishing 6that the last 2014 Asian Games performance, the quartet proved their mettle and bettered their last outing finishing 5thwith a timing of 1 minute 40.819 seconds.
National canoeing coach Balazs Babella emphasized the single medal win was one for the team as a whole. With Babella coaching the team since 2008, the victory is the realization of a decade-long of hard work and sees the journey continuing for years to come.
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Contact:
Ms Chloe Goh
General Manager
Singapore Canoe Federation
Office: 6344 6337
chloe@scf.org.sg
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