Cindy Ong continued her impressive performance at the World Masters Championships yesterday by bagging her second gold medal in Gwangju, South Korea.
The Perak-born swimmer clocked a commendable 28.68 seconds in the women’s 35-39 age group 50m butterfly event, which is her forte discipline.
Spain’s Eider Fuentes (29.08s) and Thailand’s Rutai Santadvatana (29.51s) finished second and third respectively.
Cindy’s winning time would have qualified her for the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Sea Games final for the 50m butterfly. No Malaysian swimmer made the cut for the final that year.
The 35-year-old, who retired from the national team over a decade ago, was obviously pleased with the result.
“I wasn't focused on winning gold today. The goal for me was on getting the best time,” said Cindy, who clinched the 100m freestyle gold by clocking 1:00.22s on Tuesday.
“Each time I race, I only focus on my event. The medal is just a result of that focus.
“Even if I don't win a medal, I will still carry the Malaysian flag.”
Cindy will return to the pool today for the 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly events.
“I think I have a pretty good chance for gold in the 100m butterfly but the 50m freestyle is where the big girls from Europe dominate over us petite Asians,” added Cindy.
Cindy’s 100m freestyle win was Malaysia’s first-ever gold at the World Masters Championships.
Over 5,000 swimmers from 84 countries are currently competing in Gwangju.