Jing Wen wins 200-yard butterfly final in US meet
National swimmer Quah Jing Wen added another impressive feather to her growing cap by winning the 200-yard butterfly event at the South-eastern Conference (SEC) Championships in the United States yesterday.
In the final held at Texas' Rec Center Natatorium, the 17-year-old Singaporean took an early lead which she never relinquished.
She touched home in 1min 53.05sec, finishing ahead of former US national junior champion Megan Kingsley (1:53.27) from the University of Georgia and the University of Missouri's Sharli Brady (1:54.01).
The event's record is 1:52.19, set by former Texas A&M swimmer Cammile Adams in 2014.
Jing Wen joined Texas A&M University last year, following her elder siblings' footsteps by studying in an American university and getting more exposure to high-quality meets.
Brother Zheng Wen is currently enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley while eldest sibling Ting Wen graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles.
The teenager also made big waves at last year's Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.
She won five gold medals in the 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay.
Yesterday's SEC Championships also witnessed another powerful performance from American Caeleb Dressel, who smashed the NCAA and American records in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 50.03sec, erasing the University of Arizona's Kevin Cordes' 2014 mark of 50.04.
Dressel, 21, won seven golds at last year's Fina World Championships, including a victory over Singapore's Olympic champion Joseph Schooling in the 100m butterfly final.
The University of Florida undergraduate is hailed by many as the natural successor to American swimming great Michael Phelps. - WANG MENG MENG
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
