Sheer power: National swim ace Khiew Hoe Yean wins his second gold at SEA Games. - GLENN GUAN/The Star
BANGKOK: National swim ace Khiew Hoe Yean continued his splashing show at the SEA Games in Thailand by clinching his second gold medal in the pool.
The 23-year-old etched his name into the record books by becoming the first swimmer since Welson Sim to complete the 200m-400m freestyle double, after storming to victory in the 400m freestyle final in 3:50.63s at the Huamak Aquatic Centre on Monday (Dec 15).
Welson last achieved the feat at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.
The triumph marked a breakthrough moment for Hoe Yean, who had previously settled for silver behind Vietnam’s Nguyen Huy Hoang at both the 2022 Vietnam and 2023 Cambodia editions.
This time, Hoe Yean was in command, finishing ahead of Vietnam’s Nguyen Quoc Tran (3:53.18s) and Huy Hoang (3:53.50s).
He had earlier struck gold in the 200m freestyle on Sunday.
