Fadhil Yunus
Brunei Darussalam swimmers Christian Nikles, Nur Haziq Samil and Hayley Wong left for Budapest, Hungary yesterday to take part in the upcoming 19th FINA World Championships.
The national swimmers, accompanied by national head coach Wu Na, will make their first competitive appearance in the international scene this year at one of the prestigious events in the swimming sport calendar.
The International Swimming Federation- (FINA) sanctioned event will be Wong’s biggest competition to date since joining the national set-up.
The talented 14-year old is considered as one of the top prospects in the country, especially after breaking Nuralia Abdul Rahim’s long-standing 31-year-old record in the 200m breaststroke event.
Wong, who is the youngest member of the team, has previously competed overseas including in Kuching, Sibu and Singapore.
It will be Nikles’ first appearance in a world meet since the 15th FINA World Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, Nur Haziq Samil, who received a FINA Scholarship and is based in Thanyapura for his career development, will make his first appearance in a world meet at senior level.
He previously represented the country in the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in Argentina in 2018 and the 30th Southeast Asian Games in Manila, Philippines a year later.
The national swimmer has also travelled to Budapest to take part in the 7th FINA World Junior Swimming Championship in August 2019.
The 400m freestyle national record holder will look to post a sub two-minute time in the 200m, which will give him the national record.
Hayley will be competing in the women’s 200m Individual Medley (IM) on June 18 and the women’s 200m butterfly event on June 21.
Meanwhile, Haziq will have a shot on the national record for both the men’s 400m and 200m freestyle events on June 18 and 19.
Similarly, Nikles will also attempt to rewrite the national record times in the men’s 100m and 50m events, scheduled on June 21 and 23.
