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National swimmer Muhammad Isa makes Olympic debut
Sunday, July 25, 2021
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National swimmer Muhammad Isa bin Ahmad. PHOTO: FADHIL YUNUS


Brunei Darussalam national swimmer Muhammad Isa bin Ahmad recorded a time of 1:08.65s in the 100m breaststroke event of the 32nd Olympic Games at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo, Japan yesterday.

The national swimmer was aiming to break his national record of 1:06.40s and his International Swimming Federation (FINA) record of 1:06.51s in the global stage.

The 23-year old became the second athlete to represent the country in swimming at the Olympics since Anderson Lim in the London Olympics in 2012.

He set a new national record during the 27th Brunei Age Group Championships in April 2019 while his FINA record came during the 18th FINA (Long Course) World Championships at the Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center in Gwangju, South Korea three months later.

Muhammad Isa also holds the national record for 50m breaststroke, which he attained in the 30th Southeast Asian Games (SEA) at the New Clarke City Aquatics Center in Capas, Tarlac, Philippines in December 2019.

The best 16 swimmers across seven heats progressed to the semi-finals of the event.

Great Britain’s defending champion and world record holder Adam Peaty will lead the field in the semi-finals after clocking the fastest qualifying time with 57.56s.

Netherlands’s Arno Kamminga, United States’ Michael Andrew, Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi and China’s Zibei Yan will also be in contention for a place in the final.

Adam Peaty, who is gunning for a second successive gold, has been drawn in the same semi-final round alongside 2019 world bronze medallist Zibei Yan and 2018 world silver medallist Ilya Shymanovich.

The semi-finals of the 100m breaststroke will begin today with the final scheduled to take place tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Brunei’s interest in the competition will continue with the participation of national sprinter Muhammad Noor Firdaus Ar-Rasyid bin Haji Mohd Idris in the 200m event at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium on August 3.

Muhammad Noor Firdaus will also be making a maiden appearance in the Olympics, having previously competed in the World, Asian Championships and the Asian Games.

The national sprinter hope to break his national record of 21.39s which he achieved during the Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2017.

Courtesy from Borneo Bulletin