Swimmer Yi Ting named Olympian of the Year along with Chong Wei

PETALING JAYA: Siow Yi Ting continues to put swimming in the limelight when she was named along with shuttler Lee Chong Wei as the winners of the Olympians of the Year awards last night.

Chong Wei’s win was not a surprise as he was the only one short-listed for the male category, thanks to his silver medal winning feat in the Beijing Olympics in August.

But it was certainly a memorable day for him to clinch the award on the same day that he captured his seventh successive national crown in Alor Star to surpass the previous record of six held by his mentor Misbun Sidek.

Shuttler Lee Chong Wei and swimmer Siow Yi Ting (inset) won the 2008 Olympian of the Year award Friday night.

“This win will spur me on to win more titles and try to hold on to the number one spot for a long time,” said Chong Wei, who ended a 12-year medal drought in the Olympics with his silver medal feat.

It was also a timely belated birthday gift for Yi Ting, who beat national number one singles player Wong Mew Choo and taekwondo exponent Che Chew Chan in the female category.

Worthy Olympian: Siow Yi Ting keeps swimming in the spotlight.

While Mew Choo and Chew Chan reached the quarter-finals in their respective categories, Yi Ting, who turned 23 on Thursday, got the nod for her record-breaking effort in the 200m breaststroke.

Yi Ting won her heat in 2:27.80 to shatter her six-year-old national mark of 2:29.21 and narrowly missed out on the top-16 semi-finals when she was ranked overall 19th.

The SEA Games multiple gold medal winner also splashed to a season best of 2:17.11 in the 200m individual medley, slightly outside her national record of 2:16.92.

However, Chong Wei and Yi Ting, who won RM10,000 each, were not present to receive their awards.

Yi Ting’s father Siow Kian Wah collected the award and thanked OCM for picking his daughter for the award.

“I hope she continues to swim better and make the country proud.

“It is a pity she is unable to come back because of her studies in America,” said Kian Wah.

The IOC Sport and Youth Trophy was awarded to SportExcel Foundation last night for their tireless efforts in promoting and nurturing youth development programmes.

The awards were based on performances at the recent Olympics and were given out at the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) annual dinner which was graced by Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob last night.

Swimmers Daniel Bego and Khoo Cai Lin were the winners last year.

The Star