KUALA LUMPUR: The inaugural ASEAN Festival Open Water Swimming Championships on June 2 at the Putrajaya Lake promises participants a unique experience.
Swimmers from Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taiwan and Thailand will take part in the meet which has three events: men's and women's 5km, 1.5km and 400m.
One of the top draws in the competition is Chelsea Ning Lee who made history by becoming the first Malaysian woman to complete the 33km ultra-marathon swim in France in June last year.
She finished sixth overall with an impressive time of seven hours, 26 minutes, and 48 seconds at Le Flow Des Gabarriers.
On May 16, Chelsea won the girls' 3.8km Middle Island Challenge in 56 minutes and 12 seconds. She finished third overall in the women's open.
The presence of the 19-year-old, whose aspiration is to represent Malaysia at the Olympics, will inspire open water swimmers.
The event is organised by Hammersmith Sdn Bhd and sanctioned by Kuala Lumpur Aquatics with support from the Youth and Sports Ministry.
Hammersmith chairman Barry Lee said: "We are thrilled to bring the ASEAN Festival Open Water Swimming Championships to Putrajaya for the first time.
"The reason why this event is held is to promote open water swimming, hence the 1.5km and 400m distances to make it appealing to first-timers to swim in a safe environment."
KL Aquatics Honorary Secretary Mae Chen said: "The inception of the ASEAN Festival championships will bring much-needed exposure to open water swimming in the country, considering it being an Olympic event, besides unearthing new talent.
Mae said "open water swimming" in Malaysia has increased in popularity following Heidi Gan's gold medal success in the women's 5km and 10km at the 2011 Sea Games.