Cambodian
swim team selected for trip to Turkey
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
Chhorn Norn and Chris Derbuc
Phnom Penh Post Newspaper
For the fourth time, a team of Cambodian swimmers will be sent to the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m), which holds its 11th edition in Istanbul from December 12 to 16.
The Kingdom have selected three of their elite athletes, including two-time Olympians Hem Thon Ponloeu and his niece Hem Thon Vitiny, and Russian-born youngster Maximov Chamraen Youri for the Turkey trip.
Ponloeu will compete in his favoured men’s 50m freestyle and 50m backstroke events, while Vitiny will enter the same races in the women’s draw. Youri is also down for the men’s 50m freestyle as well as the 50m butterfly.
“It is a mass competition; if we don’t participate, our chances of qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil will be very small,” Khmer Amateur Swimming Federation secretary-general Hem Thon said of the biennial event, which is set to feature 200 participating nations.
“The results are not so important, because this event is a great preparation for the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar.
From the Left to the Right: HEMTHON Ponloeu, 22 years old, Chamraen Youri, 16 years old, HEMTHON Vitiny, 19 years old during Cambodian National Swimming Championship Long Course 2012 at Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh. Copyright Royal Sport Club "Nautilus"
Comments from Aquatics Cambodia:
So, our conclusion - the results for
Cambodian swimmers at this World Championship are very important, this is 1st
thing, and the 2nd thing - every swimming meet, especially abroad,
where many swimmers from many countries participate, both - short course and
long course, especially if it is a World Championship - is very important, and
good, as an experience, for the National Team members, for their preparation for SEA
Games swimming competition, which is considered the main swimming meet right now,
for Cambodian swimmers, but, from the professional point of view - short course
swimming meet is one thing, and long course swimming meet is another thing,
and, to prepare for important long course competitions, swimmers must
participate more in long course meets, and vice versa.
Comments from Aquatics Cambodia:
There
are some mistakes in this article:
“Ponloeu will compete in his favoured men’s 50m freestyle and 50m backstroke events, while Vitiny will enter the same races in the women’s draw. Youri is also down for the men’s 50m freestyle as well as the 50m butterfly.”
1. 50 Backstroke distance never was favourite for Ponloeu. His favourite style actually, is not backstroke, but breaststroke. Ponloeu currently is best breaststroker inside Cambodia, and, number two-number three Cambodian male breaststroker is Chamraen Youri and another Cambodian swimmer called Odom Lim. Maybe, next time, Phnom Penh Post correspondents should ask directly, the swimmers, what distances, are favourite, for them? For sure, if they would ask Ponloeu, about it, for sure, he would never answer that backstroke is his favourite distance! The same, that Chamraen Youri would never answer, that butterfly is his favourite distance, because actually, among freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, individual medley and butterfly distances, butterfly is just number 5, in the list of his favourites (despite that Chamraen as universal swimmer, swim all distances with usually good result for him), so when we read in our club this Post article, we all almost became falling down, from our chairs, to see, what 2nd distance selection Mr. HEM Thon made for swimmers, at this World Championship!
“Ponloeu will compete in his favoured men’s 50m freestyle and 50m backstroke events, while Vitiny will enter the same races in the women’s draw. Youri is also down for the men’s 50m freestyle as well as the 50m butterfly.”
1. 50 Backstroke distance never was favourite for Ponloeu. His favourite style actually, is not backstroke, but breaststroke. Ponloeu currently is best breaststroker inside Cambodia, and, number two-number three Cambodian male breaststroker is Chamraen Youri and another Cambodian swimmer called Odom Lim. Maybe, next time, Phnom Penh Post correspondents should ask directly, the swimmers, what distances, are favourite, for them? For sure, if they would ask Ponloeu, about it, for sure, he would never answer that backstroke is his favourite distance! The same, that Chamraen Youri would never answer, that butterfly is his favourite distance, because actually, among freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, individual medley and butterfly distances, butterfly is just number 5, in the list of his favourites (despite that Chamraen as universal swimmer, swim all distances with usually good result for him), so when we read in our club this Post article, we all almost became falling down, from our chairs, to see, what 2nd distance selection Mr. HEM Thon made for swimmers, at this World Championship!
Ironically, 50 backstroke distance and
all other backstroke distances Chamraen Youri, the 2nd selected male swimmer to
participate in WC, swims better, than anybody else, inside Cambodia, as he
almost always win backstroke distances in LC Cambodian Championships and other
LC local swimming meets since Oct 2009. He set up new Cambodian National Record
for 50 Backstroke LC in SEA Games 2011 and he is holder of Cambodian National
Record for all Backstroke distances at SC. In Medley Relay LC in SEA Games
2011, Chamraen was selected, to swim backstroke distance, for Cambodian team.
2. In reality, Ponloeu was selected to swim 50 Breaststroke, not 50 Backstroke. Why Phnom Penh Post wrote that he is selected to swim 50 Backstroke, nobody in our club can understand. Maybe, for Phnom Penh Post correspondents, there are no differences between backstroke and breaststroke styles?
3. As it was known later, Chamraen Youri and Vitiny were denying compete at 2nd distance, with unknown reasons. According to some un-official info, received from our source - because of mistakes, made by KASF official during enrolment procedure. Because, of one of such mistakes, for example, HEMTHON Vitiny was enrolled as VITINY Hemthon, for 50 Freestyle, means that Cambodian female swimmer family and given names were submitted in wrong way, as was put her given name Vitiny as her family name!
2. In reality, Ponloeu was selected to swim 50 Breaststroke, not 50 Backstroke. Why Phnom Penh Post wrote that he is selected to swim 50 Backstroke, nobody in our club can understand. Maybe, for Phnom Penh Post correspondents, there are no differences between backstroke and breaststroke styles?
3. As it was known later, Chamraen Youri and Vitiny were denying compete at 2nd distance, with unknown reasons. According to some un-official info, received from our source - because of mistakes, made by KASF official during enrolment procedure. Because, of one of such mistakes, for example, HEMTHON Vitiny was enrolled as VITINY Hemthon, for 50 Freestyle, means that Cambodian female swimmer family and given names were submitted in wrong way, as was put her given name Vitiny as her family name!
“The results are not so important,
because this event is a great preparation for the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar."
This is not right, to tell like this - that
results are not so important. Not right. In reality - results at this World Swimming
Short Course Championship are very important, for the participating Cambodian
swimmers, and, must be important, also, for Cambodian officials, from Khmer Amateur
Swimming Federation, including its President and General Secretary, as well!
Because, there is no any Short Course 25 m FINA standard swimming pool, in the
kingdom yet!!! And, this reason, Cambodian swimmers, have very little chances, to
participate, in short course swimming meets, they can do it, only abroad. As
far, as we see, only 2-3 Cambodian swimmers among others, can go only 1 time in
2 years, to participate in Short Course Meet, and this is FINA World Swim
Championship. They do not participate,
in other Short Course swimming meets available, because of lack of funding and
some other reasons. This is why, when we sent our Royal Sport Club
"Nautilus" swimmer Chamraen Youri Maximov to participate in DTAC ISB
Annual Splash Meet in Bangkok in 2010, we enrolled him, at as many distances as
it was possible, because, it was a Short Course Meet, and a very rare
opportunity for him, to update his PBT at short course distances, as well as try
to update Cambodian National Swimming Records for Short Course! He swam that
time, 4 distances on the 1st day of competition, in his age group and
won 3 gold medals and 1 silver medal and got Special Trophy for the Best
Swimmer in his age group. On the 2nd Day of the Meet - he was
competing in 5 distances in open category and he won trophy for the 1st
place in 400 IM and 4 trophies for other 4 distances he swam, made total 10 PBT!
including intermediate distances and several National Records as well. His
parents paid own money, for the return trip air-tickets, food, local
transportation in Phnom Penh and covered some local taxi fees in Bangkok, enrollment
fee and distances enrollment fees, plus fee for the video/photo shooting by
professional photo-studio specialists in Bangkok. Our club's good friend
sponsored accommodation in Bangkok and provided FOC car with driver for some
trips in Bangkok as well. We haven't got a single cent or riel, from KASF or
from NOC or from any other institution, for this participation in swimming
competition in Bangkok, in which, for the first and, and as we know, only one
time, a Cambodian swimming club's swimmer participated and became a sensation
there, as he won total 6 trophies and 4 medals just alone! There were hundreds
of swimmers from many countries participating… What is amazing, when we
submitted written report, about our swimmer success, in Bangkok, and showed his
results, medals, trophies, photos, videos, comments from other participating clubs
officials and coaches, KASF Secretary General Mr. Hem Thon did absolutely
nothing, to share this information, in Cambodian mass-media, or in a sport
program on TV which he was conducting that time, or share this info among other
NOC officials, where he was Head of Administration Department that time… What was even more amazing, to hear from Mr. Hem
Thon, that because there is no any Short Course 25m FINA Standard swimming pool
in Cambodia, he and his organization KASF does not have any interest, to create
official Cambodian National Swimming Records Database for the Short Course! So,
that swimmers from Cambodia rare participations, in short course swimming meets
abroad, their results and achievements - have no value and no interest for the Khmer
Amateur Swimming Federation officials! This is why, was the main reason, why we
in Aquatics Cambodia have decided, to collect and accumulate all info possible,
about Cambodian swimmers participation in the competitions, eligible for
National Records, according FINA rules and made two databases, one for Cambodian
National Short Course Swimming Records and another for Cambodian National Long
Course Swimming Records as both were absent, on that time.
And the last, but not least - professional swimming specialists know very well, that there are some differences between short course and long course, in training process, preparations and competitions, so, to prepare, for the SEA Games 2013 swimming competition, which is a Long Course, swimmers should participate more in long course meets, but this World Championship in Turkey is a short course meet.
 |
| Chamraen Youri from Cambodian Royal Sport Club "Nautilus" during Press-Conference in Bangkok after capturing 6 Trophies & 4 Medals at DTAC ISB Splash International Annual Short Course Swimming Meet in 2010. Copyright Vladimir MAXIMOV |
And the last, but not least - professional swimming specialists know very well, that there are some differences between short course and long course, in training process, preparations and competitions, so, to prepare, for the SEA Games 2013 swimming competition, which is a Long Course, swimmers should participate more in long course meets, but this World Championship in Turkey is a short course meet.
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