Diving
Malaysian diver Elizabeth Jimie may only be 14 years old and have just two international appearances to her name, but she will be among the contenders to land a medal at the 15th Asian Games Doha 2006.
Jimie is already a world champion after her victory on home soil in the Group B (14–15 years old) 1 m springboard event at the 16th World Youth Championships in Kuala Lumpur in August.
Jimie beat two Chinese divers to take that gold at the Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) event, and become the first Malaysian female diver to win a world title – only a month after making her debut on the international stage at the World Cup in Changshu, China.
However Jimie, who comes from a family of four siblings in Kuching, is no stranger to the Malaysian scene. She was first drafted into the national squad as an 11-year-old, only to suffer from homesickness and return home to the state of Sarawak.
“I will be partnering Leong Mun Yee for the 3m sychronised event,” Jimie told The Star newspaper. “I will also compete in the 1m and 3m springboard individual events.
“It will be great to reach the final, but I want to concentrate on improving my diving skills.”
Malaysia has high hopes for her with Edwin Chong, the Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (ASUM) Secretary, admitting that “it is not beyond her abilities to win an Asian Games medal, especially in the 3m synchronised event”.
As a result, in the women's 3 m synchronised event held on 11 December, Malaysia team of Edwin Chong and Elizabeth Jimie has successfully bagged a bronze medal with a total point of 275.04 points, 50.40 points behind the gold medallist, China diving team. Although they didn't get the gold, but they seemed to be very impressed of themselves to get a bronze medal.
The next day, again Elizabeth Jimie got another bronze medal in the Women's 1 m Springboard Final, with 280.30 points. The other two Chinese girls had successfully get a gold and a silver. Another Malaysian, Leong Mun Yee, got 4th place in the game.
In the men's synchro 3 m springboard final, Malaysian representative of Roslan Rossharisham and Yeoh Ken Nee get a total result of 393.36, 55.14 points behind the china gold medallist and got another silver medal for Malaysia.
Yeoh Ken Nee, as Malaysia another medal prospect in the Men's 1m Springboard Final event, got a 4th place, with a difference of 19.35 points behind Japan's Terauchi Ken. Earlier in the preliminary round, Yeoh get a 3rd place, only slightly behind China's Luo and Qin.
| Event | Medal | Name |
|---|---|---|
| Men's Synchro 3m Springboard | ROSLAN Rossharisham and YEOH Ken Nee | |
| Women's 1m Springboard | JIMIE Elizabeth | |
| Women's 3m Springboard | LEONG Mun Yee | |
| Women's Synchro 3m Springboard | JIMIE Elizabeth and LEONG Mun Yee |
Read more about this topic: Malaysia At The 2006 Asian Games
Famous quotes containing the word diving:
“all the fine
Points of diving feet together toes pointed hands shaped right
To insert her into water like a needle”
—James Dickey (b. 1923)
“A worm is as good a traveler as a grasshopper or a cricket, and a much wiser settler. With all their activity these do not hop away from drought nor forward to summer. We do not avoid evil by fleeing before it, but by rising above or diving below its plane; as the worm escapes drought and frost by boring a few inches deeper.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)