By WU VUIDE
TUARAN: Debutantes Georgene Ee Jern Wee of Malaysia and Vietnam’s Nhat Lam Quang emerged as the overall female and male champions, respectively, at Oceanman Kota Kinabalu.
With their victories, Ee and Quang, together with the top 10 finishers in each age group, earned tickets to the Oceanman World Final Championship in the Dominican Republic this November.
They will be joined by 36-year-old visually impaired swimmer Faiq Adnan and his coach and fellow competitor, Dato’ Ooi Win Juat.
Ooi has been coaching and guiding Faiq since he was just eight years old.
Following the overwhelming success of the race, the organisers have decided to continue staging the event at Shangri-La Rasa Ria next year, instead of ending it this year as initially planned under a three-year agreement.
Race director Azura Zainol Abidin officially confirmed the decision.
“Our staff are already familiar with this venue and our partners are already comfortable here, making our ground handling work smoother. It makes sense to return here next year,” Azura said.
The decision was welcomed by Sabah Tourism Board chief executive officer Julinus Jeffrey Jimit, who said the race supports STB’s efforts to establish Sabah as Malaysia’s premier adventure sports tourism destination.
“We hope the visiting swimmers and their families will take this opportunity to explore the many beautiful destinations that Sabah has to offer,” said Jimit.
He also invited participants to extend their stay and experience the region’s rich cultural heritage and renowned hospitality.
The extension of Oceanman in Sabah next year cements its status as a premier event on the Asian open-water swimming calendar.
Overall champions, Georgene Ee (left), and Nhat Lam Quang.
