Swimming sensation Shannon Tan smashes Sukma record 3 times in a day

Selangor's 15-year-old swimmer broke the Games record in the women's 200m butterfly en route to two gold medals.

Shannon Tan’s double victory took her haul to five gold medals at the Malaysia Games. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR:

Fifteen-year-old swimmer Shannon Tan enjoyed a record-breaking day after smashing the Sukma record three times while helping Selangor win two swimming gold medals at the 2026 Malaysia Games here today.

Shannon first broke the Games record in the morning heats of the women’s 200m butterfly, clocking 2:15.77s to erase the previous mark of 2:17.79s set by Sarawak’s Hii Siew Siew in 2012. She went even faster in the final, clocking 2:15.13s to win gold and lower her own meet record for the second time in a single day, while coming within 0.83s of Khoo Cai Lin’s national record of 2:14.30s set in 2009.

The teenager was not done yet, returning to help the hosts clinch gold in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay and break another Sukma record.

The Selangor quartet, comprising Khew Zi Xian, Chong Yi Yuan, Eliza Ai and Shannon, clocked 3:54.54s to eclipse the previous meet record of 3:55.84 also set by Selangor last year. The federal territories claimed silver in 3:58.13s, while Penang settled for bronze in 3:59.83s.

Speaking after the medal ceremony, Shannon said the two records she set today were particularly special, especially after putting in strong performances in both the individual and relay events.

“I really tried my best and for the relay, we all had fun and enjoyed the race. So I think that’s really important and it’s really, really special to me,” she told reporters.

Shannon said she remains hungry for more, with the prospect of challenging the national record in other events providing added motivation to work harder in training.

She will now turn her attention to the women’s 100m butterfly tomorrow, which she described as one of her favourite events, although she admitted to feeling tired after a demanding day in the pool and plans to focus on recovery before the race.

The double-gold haul today took Shannon’s tally to five gold medals, after having won the women’s 400m individual medley, women’s 200m individual medley and 4x100m mixed medley events.

Federal territories swimmer Dhuha Dzulfikry continued his dominance in the men’s 1,500m freestyle by successfully defending his gold medal in 15:59.79s. However, the 18-year-old was left disappointed after falling short of his own Sukma record of 15:51.53s, set last year.

“I felt it could have been better as I aimed to break my own record from the previous Sukma but today was not my lucky day,” he said.

Penang swimmer Samuel Chong took silver in 16:39.06s, while host swimmer Hermann Bok claimed bronze in 16:48.44s. - FMT