A top Malaysian swimmer won the men’s 400m freestyle at the Mare Nostrum Tour event in Monaco on Saturday.
Twenty-year-old Welson Sim broke his own national record of 3:50:33 that he set in March 2016 at the National Age Group swimming championships in Singapore, clocking 3:49.48 in Monaco, to push reigning Olympic champion Mack Horton of Australia into second place on 3:50.13. Qiu Ziao of China took third place with a time of 3:51.18.
Sim’s swim was watched closely in Malaysia and his win prompted the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, to Tweet: “Congratulations to our swimmer Welson Sim, for winning the gold medal at the Monaco championships, breaking the national record and beating the Olympic champion! The victory is sweet.”
Sim swam for Malaysia at the Rio Olympics last year and is only the second Malaysian to win on the Mare Nostrum Tour.
Phee Jinq En was Malaysia’s first ever winner in the Tour when she won the women’s 50m breaststroke in Monaco last year.