Fin swimming another medal hope for SEA Games' host

Fin swimming is one sport in which the Lao Swimming Federation believes a gold medal at the SEA Games in December is possible, according to a federation official on Friday.

Swimmers practise for two hours each evening from Monday to Friday at the Lao Swimming Federation pool in Vientiane.

Fin Swimming Coach Assistant Phanma Toulihong said the federation wasn't confident regular swimmers could win a gold medal because their record in past events showed they couldn't compete with other regional swimmers.

“But fin swimming is a different matter and we are more hopeful of a medal in this sport. We selected the best swimmers for training in Laos before they go to train in Vietnam next month,” he said.

Fin swimming is a new sport in Laos and there are real hopes of a gold medal after the Lao team took the bronze medal at the 22 nd SEA Games held in 2003 in Vietnam .

“After looking at the results of previous competitions, we believe we have a chance of a gold medal in this sport at the games which Laos will host in December,” Mr Phanma said.

The Lao Swimming Federation has brought coaches from Vietnam to train both the swimming and fin swimming teams. The 26 swimmers on both teams have been practising since the start of this month. Ten will be selected to train in fin swimming in Vietnam .

“The 10 swimmers we choose will be the best of the 26 swimmers training here. We're going to focus on training these 10 in fin swimming in Vietnam next month, as they are our best hope in this sport,” he said.

After training in Vietnam for six months, the best of the group will be chosen by the federation to continue their training in China . “But at this point we still don't know how many can go for training in China ,” Mr Phanma said.

He said it would depend on the times of the individual swimmers. Foreign teams can swim 50 metres in 16 seconds and if Lao fin swimmers can get close to this timing, they will be selected to train in China .

The federation has faced some problems during training because some of the youngsters chosen to train haven't been allowed to practise by their parents, who want them to concentrate on their studies instead.

“We've lost many good athletes because they want to focus on their education. For example, one of our best swimmers went to study in Cuba . He could fin swim 50 metres in 17 seconds, which is very close to the timing of other swimmers in the region. Anyway, we will find the best swimmers we can for a medal,” Mr Phanma said.

He said Lao swimmers could win a medal if they had enough support, including the encouragement of their parents and teachers and a larger pool to train in. At present they can only practise over a distance of 3,000 metres a day.

“If they practise morning and evening in a full-sized pool, I believe it won't be so difficult for us to get a medal,” Mr Phanma said.

By Souknilundon Southivongnorath
March 15, 2009