KUALA LUMPUR: MALAYSIA won its first swimming gold in style when Welson Sim Wee Sheng broke his own Sea Games record of 3:53.97 by clocking an astounding 3:50.26 in the 400m Freestyle event at the National Aquatic Centre today.
Welson led from start to finish, and at every turn he was an arms length away from the rest of the pack.
His blistering pace wasn’t lost on the crowd, who roared him on as they saw a gold medal materialise.
Welson did not disappoint, and cracked his own 2015 record to defend his gold medal.
Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin was among those who cheered on Welson.
However, the other Malaysian swimmer in the men's events, Tern Jian Han, could only manage 26.38s to out of the medal bracket in the men's 50m backstroke final. The time was also off his personal best of 26.12s clocked at the Malaysian Open in Melaka this year.