KUALA LUMPUR: Federal Territories (FT) swimmer Jayden Tan is determined not to let restrictions dampen his spirit as he prepares to compete in the Sarawak Malaysia Games (Sukma), which officially begin on Saturday.
After winning two bronze medals in the 400m individual medley (IM) and 4x200m freestyle relay at the Phnom Penh Sea Games last year, Jayden is limited to participating in just two individual and two relay events in Sarawak.
"Because of my achievements in Phnom Penh, I'm restricted to two individual and two relay events," said Jayden. "But that won't stop me from contributing to FT's medal tally. I aim to win gold in all my events."
The 20-year-old has enjoyed a successful season so far, breaking records along the way.
He won gold in the 400m freestyle and the 200m IM, as well as silver in the 200m freestyle at the Malaysia Open in May.
Two months later, at the first National Short Course Championships, he broke records in the 200m and 400m IM, winning both events.
Leading the charge alongside Jayden is Dhuha Zulfikry, who aims to be the top-performing swimmer in Sarawak.
"I will compete in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, and 1,500m freestyle events," said Dhuha.
"I don't know if I will break records, but I will do my best and we'll see what happens."
Dhuha, 16, won gold in the 800m freestyle at the National Short Course Championships in July, breaking Welson Sim's record with a time of 7:49.20, surpassing Welson's 8:04.18 set in 2019.
In the long course programme, Dhuha also claimed victory in the 1,500m freestyle at the Malaysia Open in May.
He finished second to Jayden in the 400m freestyle and third in the 200m freestyle.