Wan Azlan

Last updated

Wan Azlan
Personal information
Birth nameWan Azlan bin Wan Ali Abdullah
National teamFlag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia
Born (1975-06-05) 5 June 1975 (age 48)
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight77 kg (170 lb)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Freestyle, medley
ClubPine Crest Swim Club (U.S.)
College team University of Georgia (U.S.)
Coach David López-Zubero (U.S.)
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing Malaysia
Southeast Asian Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1997 Jakarta 200 m medley
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1997 Jakarta 400 m medley
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1995 Chiang Mai 400 m medley

Wan Azlan bin Wan Ali Abdullah (professionally known as Wan Azlan Abdullah; born 5 June 1975) is a retired Malaysian swimmer, who specialised in freestyle and in individual medley events. [1] He is a two-time Olympian (1996 and 2000), and a gold medalist at the Southeast Asian Games (1997). While studying in the United States, Abdullah trained for the Pine Crest Swim Club in Fort Lauderdale, Florida under his full-time coach David López-Zubero, a bronze medalist for Spain at the 1980 Summer Olympics. [2] During his college career, Abdullah swam for the University of Georgia's Georgia Bulldogs swimming and diving team under head coach Jack Bauerle. [3]

Abdullah made his first Malaysian team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. There, he failed to reach the top 16 final in any of his individual events, finishing thirty-sixth in the 200 m individual medley (2:12.11), and twenty-seventh in the 400 m individual medley (4:38.95, a slowest prelims time). [4] [5] He also placed twentieth, along with his Malaysian teammates Alex Lim, Elvin Chia, and Anthony Ang, in the 4×100 m medley relay (3:56.24). [6]

The following year, at the 1997 Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, Abdullah won two gold medals each in the 200 m individual medley (2:07.80), and in the 400 m individual medley (4:32.75). [7] [8]

Abdullah swam only in the men's 400 m individual medley at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He achieved a FINA B-cut of 4:34.50 from the Asian Swimming Championships in Busan, South Korea. [9] He challenged seven other swimmers in heat two, including 1996 Olympic silver medalist Jani Sievinen of Finland, and 16-year-old George Bovell of Trinidad and Tobago. Abdullah posted a time of 4:36.90 to save a seventh spot over Croatia's Sandro Tomaš by a 1.4-second advantage. Abdullah failed to reach the top 8 final, as he placed forty-first overall in the prelims. [10] [11] [12]

Related Research Articles

Olena Pavlivna Lapunova is a Ukrainian former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle and individual medley events. She is a three-time Olympian, an eighth-place finalist at the European Championships (1997), and a former Ukrainian record holder in the 200 m freestyle and individual medley.

Kim Bang-Hyun is a South Korean former swimmer who specialized in the individual medley but also competed in freestyle and butterfly events. He is a three-time Olympian, and a two-time bronze medalist in the freestyle relays at the Asian Games. Kim became the first ever South Korean swimmer to train in the United States, where he attended the University of Florida on a full athletic scholarship. While swimming for the Florida Gators under head coach Gregg Troy, Kim earned four All-American swimming honors in both the 200 and 400-meter individual medley events at the NCAA Championships. Kim also holds a total of eighteen South Korean records, set while competing for the Korean national team.

Ratapong "Nuk" Sirisanont is a Thai former swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke, but also competed in long-distance freestyle and individual medley. He is a four-time Olympian, a three-time Asian Games participant, and a seven-time SEA Games athlete (1991–2003). Regarded as Thailand's top swimmer, he has won a total of sixteen medals at the Southeast Asian Games since 1995, and six at the Asian Games, including two golds in the 200 and 400 m individual medley. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Sirisanont became the first Thai swimmer to reach the final twice. Sirisanont is also one of three Southeast Asian swimmers, along with Malaysia's Alex Lim and Philippines' Miguel Molina, to train for the California Golden Bears in the United States, under head coach Nort Thornton.

Arsenio Alexander López Rosario, also known as Alex Lopez, is a Puerto Rican former swimmer and three-time Olympian who specialized in breaststroke and individual medley events.

Aikaterini "Katia" Sarakatsani is a Greek swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke and individual medley events. She is a three-time Olympian, a former Greek record holder in the breaststroke, and a member of the swimming team for Hawaiʻi Rainbow Wahine at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, under head coach Vojko Race.

Sergey Ashihmin (Russian: Серге́й Ашихмин; is a Russian-born Kyrgyzstani former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. He is a two-time Olympian, and a former Kyrgyzstan record holder in the 50 and 100 m freestyle. While playing for the Russian senior team, Ashihmin also earned a silver medal, along with Denis Pimankov, Dmitry Chernyshov, and double Olympic champion Alexander Popov, in the 4×100 m freestyle relay at the 1999 European Aquatics Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.

Richard Sam Bera is a former Indonesian swimmer, who specialized in sprint and middle-distance freestyle events. He is a three-time Olympian, a bronze medalist at the Asian Games (1990), and a twenty-three times SEA Games gold-medalist since his debut in 1987. He is regarded as Indonesia's most successful swimmer in the sporting history. Up until 2015, Bera held several Indonesian and Southeast Asian Games records in sprint freestyle events from the Southeast Asian Games.

Woo Chul is a retired South Korean swimmer, who specialized in middle-distance freestyle events. He is a two-time Olympian, and a double medalist at the Asian Games.

Mark Kwok Kin-ming is a former swimmer for Hong Kong, who specialized in middle-distance freestyle but also competed in butterfly and individual medley. He is a two-time Olympian, and a bronze medalist at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand. He also holds numerous Hong Kong records in 200, 400, and 800 m freestyle, and retains a dual resident status to compete internationally for his father's homeland. While studying in the United States, Kwok has competed for the USC Trojans, and has received four All-American honors at the NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships in four consecutive seasons.

Sng Ju Wei is a Singaporean former swimmer, who specialized in sprint and middle-distance freestyle events. He is a two-time Olympian, and a triple medalist at the 2001 Southeast Asian Games. Sng also trained for the Aquatic Performance Swim Club in Singapore district, under head coach Jin Xia Li.

Torwai Sethsothorn is a Thai former swimmer, who specialized in long-distance freestyle but also competed in backstroke and individual medley. He is a single-time Olympian (2000), and a multiple-time SEA Games gold medalist. Sethsothorn is also the brother of 1998 Asian Games champion Torlarp Sethsothorn.

Dulyarit "Goh" Phuangthong is a Thai former professional swimmer who specialized in backstroke, butterfly and individual medley events. He is a two-time Olympian, a finalist in the 100m backstroke at the 2002 Asian Games, and a multiple-time medalist at the Southeast Asian Games since his debut in 1995.

Valērijs "Val" Kalmikovs is a Latvian former swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke and individual medley events. He is a two-time Olympian and a top 16 finalist in the 200 m breaststroke on his Olympic debut in Atlanta (1996). He still holds a Latvian record in the 200 m breaststroke (2:16.21) that stood for more than a decade. While studying in the United States, Kalmikovs achieved a sixth-fastest of all time in the 200-yard breaststroke at the 2000 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships. He has also been named a three-time Big-12 Conference Champion and a nine-time All-American, as a member of the University of Nebraska swimming and diving team. Since his sporting career ended in 2004, Kalmikovs has extensively traveled across the United States and Europe, working as a swimming coach. On September 9. 2019 Val became the first Latvian to swim across The English Channel. It took him 11 hours and 13 minutes (6pm-5am) to successfully finish the challenge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Ang</span> Malaysian swimmer

Anthony Ang Kang Keam is a Malaysian former swimmer, who specialised in butterfly events. He is a two-time Olympian, a double SEA Games titleholder in a butterfly double, a Bolles School graduate, and a member of Florida State University (1998-1999) and University of Minnesota (2000-2002) swimming and diving team while studying in the United States.

Sultan Al-Otaibi is a Kuwaiti former swimmer, who specialized in individual medley, but also competed in backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. He represented Kuwait in all of the four editions of the Olympic Games since 1988, and also held numerous Kuwaiti records in the same disciplines, particularly in the 200 m individual medley.

Serghei Mariniuc is a Moldovan former swimmer, who specialized in individual medley events. He represented the Unified Team and the Republic of Moldova in all three editions of the Olympic Games since 1992, and later became a top eight finalist in two individual medleys throughout his Olympic career, emerging him as the nation's most prominent swimmer. He also captured a silver medal in the 400 m individual medley at the 1993 FINA Short Course World Championships in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. When he moved to the United States in 1993, Mariniuc trained professionally for the Santa Clara Swim Club in California until he announced his official retirement in late 2000.

Praphalsai "Waen" Minpraphal is a Thai former swimmer, who specialized in butterfly, but also competed in backstroke and individual medley. She represented Thailand in all three editions of the Olympic Games since 1992, and earned numerous medals in her own specialties at the Southeast Asian Games since 1991. While residing in the United States on her college career, she helped the California Golden Bears set a new world record (1:49.23) and capture the 4×50 m medley title at the 2000 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. Minpraphal is among the Asian swimmers, along with Joscelin Yeo of Singapore and Akiko Thomson of the Philippines, to train for the Bears under women's head coach Teri McKeever.

Hsieh Shu-tzu is a Taiwanese former swimmer, who specialized in butterfly and individual medley events. She represented Chinese Taipei in two editions of the Olympic Games, and later captured a silver in the 200 m butterfly at the 2000 Asian Swimming Championships in Busan, South Korea.

Sia Wai Yen is a Malaysian swimmer who specialised in long-distance freestyle and individual medley events. At the age of 16 she represented Malaysia at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She won four medals in two editions of the Southeast Asian Games, and later became a top 8 finalist at the 2002 Asian Games.

Lee Ji-hyun is a South Korean former swimmer, who specialized in individual medley events. She represented her nation South Korea in two editions of the Olympic Games, and also a top eight finalist in the 400 m individual medley at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand.

References

  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Wan Azlan Abdullah". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  2. Megan, M.K (5 February 1993). "Wan Azlan caught in a dilemma". New Straits Times. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  3. Murphy, Bill (15 September 2000). "After years of practice, swimmers' dreams come true". The Red and Black. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  4. "Atlanta 1996: Aquatics (Swimming) – Men's 200m Individual Medley Heat 1" (PDF). Atlanta 1996 . LA84 Foundation. p. 48. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  5. "Atlanta 1996: Aquatics (Swimming) – Men's 400m Individual Medley Heat 1" (PDF). Atlanta 1996 . LA84 Foundation. p. 50. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  6. "Atlanta 1996: Aquatics (Swimming) – Men's 4×100m Medley Relay Heat 1" (PDF). Atlanta 1996 . LA84 Foundation. p. 52. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  7. "Ian misses out on final but breaks 13-year-old national record". The Star (Malaysia). 9 October 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  8. "OCM/NSC should monitor US-based swimmers". Utusan Malaysia. 23 September 2000. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  9. "Swimming – Men's 400m Individual Medley Startlist (Heat 2)" (PDF). Sydney 2000 . Omega Timing. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  10. "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 400m Individual Medley Heat 2" (PDF). Sydney 2000 . LA84 Foundation. p. 316. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  11. "Dolan breaks own world mark in 400 IM". Canoe.ca. 17 September 2000. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. "Allen Ong rewrites 200m freestyle national record". Utusan Malaysia. 17 September 2000. Retrieved 10 June 2013.