MUM'S THE WORD AS ROUXIN GEARS UP FOR PARIS OLYMPICS

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 (Bernama) -- For someone who only took up swimming because of her mother, Tan Rouxin is now weeks away from doing what many can only dream of - competing against the world's best at the mother of all multi-sports Games - the Paris Olympics.

The Johor Bahru-born teenager said she took up swimming as a six-year-old, all because her mother was afraid she might drown if she didn't know how to swim properly.

And that, according to the 18-year-old, fuelled her passion for the sport, though it hasn't been easy for her to get to where she is now as she said it required a lot of sacrifices.

"My mother wanted me to learn swimming when I was six to prevent drowning, and I became interested in the sport, so I continued to swim until now.

"I have had ups and downs, especially when I was 14 and I failed to beat my personal best time. That was the worst time ever in my swimming career, but my coaches, family and friends encouraged me and gave me lots of support," she told Bernama.

Last week, Malaysia Swimming named Rouxin and men’s swimmer Khiew Hoe Yean to fill the wild card slots in the July 26-Aug 11 Paris Olympics.

Rouxin, who won six gold medals at the 2022 Malaysia Games (Sukma), will compete in the 100m breaststroke, while Hoe Yean will participate in the 400m freestyle.

Asked about her feelings to represent the country at the prestigious event, she admitted to being quite surprised but happy and grateful for the golden opportunity.

As part of her preparation, she also sought advice from her idol, national swimmer Phee Jinq En, who competed in two Olympics - Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. 

"She is very helpful in helping me prepare for the Olympics. She always gives me useful advice and I really appreciate having a senior like her who is also my idol," she said.

-- BERNAMA