3 days ago
Andrew's non-stop swim season takes him from Germany to Singapore
KUALA LUMPUR: There will be no breather for national swimmer Andrew Goh, who heads straight into the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore just days after completing his campaign at the World University Games (Universiade) in Germany.
The 21-year-old is in the thick of a challenging back-to-back schedule — a true test of endurance and focus — with the Universiade swimming events taking place from July 17-23, and the World Championships beginning four days later on July 27.
"It's definitely a challenge," said Andrew.
"There won't be a lot of time in the pool between both competitions. But we've trained our entire lives for this.
"I don't think training is going to fail us now."
Andrew has had mixed results so far in Germany.
He finished last in his 100m breaststroke heat with a time of 1:02.63, and while he placed second in his 200m heat with 2:17.84, it wasn't fast enough to qualify for the semi-finals.
He will compete in the 50m breaststroke preliminaries later today.
Despite the tough outing, the upbeat Andrew remains optimistic and credits much of his progress to the strong bond he shares with national coach Eric Anderson.
The Canadian-Swedish coach has been working with Andrew since March last year, a partnership that has already delivered results.
Under Anderson's guidance, Andrew shattered two national records at last year's Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Sarawak.
He first broke his own 100m breaststroke record, clocking 1:01.39 to better his previous mark of 1:02.30, before lowering his 50m breaststroke national record from 28.10 to 27.40.
Since returning from college in the United States in April, Andrew has resumed full-time training with Anderson in Malaysia — and says their working chemistry is stronger than ever.
"Anderson is a wonderful coach. We work really well together," he said.
"We understand each other perfectly. Without him even saying a word, I know what he wants.
"I've gotten faster under him, and I plan to go even faster."
Malaysia's World Aquatics Championships squad:
Men: Khiew Hoe Yean (100m, 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle), Andrew Goh (50m and 100m breaststroke), Bryan Leong (50m, 100m butterfly), Tan Khai Xin (200m and 400m individual medley) and Arvin Shaun Singh Chahal (4x200 frestyle relay and 4x100 medley relay).
Women: Phee Jinq En (50m and 100m breaststroke).
