Great day at the pool

Mika-Jah Teah (third from top) and Sima Weah (bottom) in the boys' 50m freestyle heats. -- PHOTO: SPH-SYOGOC/MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN

Following the earlier post on the YOG Lesotho swimmer, here is another interesting article, it is amazing for these 2 Liberians.

LIBERIANS Sima Weah and Mika-Jah Teah, who usually train in a river, experienced a swimming pool for the first time yesterday when they competed at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

The pair took part in the boys' 50m freestyle heats and finished 24 seconds behind the fastest qualifiers.

Just being here is an achievement, with the duo having boarded their first airplane for a 12,000km trip that took them from Liberia to Ghana, then through Kenya and Dubai to Singapore.

'We swim in the open river,' said Mika-Jah. 'This is my first time in a pool.'

Liberia, wracked for years by civil war that ruined infrastructure and left the economy in tatters, has competed in 10 Summer Olympics but only in athletics and boxing.

Sima and Mika-Jah are the first athletes to represent their country internationally in swimming.

The 17-year-olds train in the Rockspring Valley River near Liberia's capital Monrovia, where they often have to deal with aquatic life such as crabs and fish - which they catch as they swim.

Sima was impressed but not overawed when he first saw the facilities at the Singapore Sports School.

'I felt encouraged,' he said. 'I was not scared. There was no fear.

'I was hoping to win, but I am just happy that I came here with my friends.'

Their coach Steven Weah, Sima's uncle, is a Fina-certified coach who first introduced his nephew to the sport.

'We don't even have a pool in Liberia,' he said. 'I am proud of them because this is their first appearance in international competition.'

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

18 Aug

Rainer Ng has created Singapore sporting history by winning the Republic's first swimming medal at the Youth Olympic Games.

The 18-year-old finished second in the Boys' 50m backstroke final at the Singapore Sports School this evening in 26.45sec, just 0.09sec slower than winner Christian Homer of Trinidad and Tobago (26.36sec).

Singapore has now won three medals at the YOG. Prior to Rainer's win, the Republic won already garnered bronzes in taekwondo from Nurual Shafinas Abdul Rahman and Daryl Tan.