KUCHING: National swimmer Welson Sim's amazing gold medal feat at the men's 400m freestyle at the Mare Nostrum Tour recently, came as no surprise to his teachers at SMK Batu Lintang.
Macdalin Kho Kim Hai said Sim was a hardworking lad and had trained hard for his sports career when he was a student at the secondary school.
The 20-year-old, said Kho would start his day as early as 5am, training at swimming pool before coming to school.
“Despite having to attend two training sessions each day, Sim, still managed to complete his homework and stay attentive in class.
“He was more mature compared to his peers although he was only 13.
“He managed his time well to create a balance between his studies and swimming.
“He was already the top swimmer in our school during that time,” said the Kemahiran Hidup teacher.
Kho, who taught Sim in Form One and Form Two, said the swimmer was transferred during the mid-semester in Form Three after getting an offer from Bukit Jalil Sports School.
Sim won gold in the 400m freestyle at the Mare Nostrum Tour Swimming Championship last Saturday.
He clocked 3:49.48 seconds to beat his own national record of 3:50.33s.
Olympic champion Mack Horton of Australia came in second with a time of 3:50.14s while China's Qiu Ziao settled for third place with a time of 3:51.18s.