At the Asian Games, In Hangzhou, China, the Maldives swimming team has achieved remarkable success, setting an impressive record by breaking 14 national records during this year's competition.
Among the most remarkable achievements is the 17-year-old national record that was broken by Mubal Azam Ibrahim, who broke the longstanding men's long course 100m breaststroke record. He also renewed the national record in the men's long course 200m freestyle event.
In the women's long course 200m butterfly event, Meral Ain Latheef delivered a stunning performance, shattering the existing record. Additionally, Ali Imran broke the men's long course 100m backstroke record two times in the same event.
Adding to the list of accolades, Mohamed Rihan Shiham made the national record in the men's 400m individual medley event. Another highlight was the men's 4x100m medley relay event, where the team including Imran, Rihan, Mubal, and Ahmed Neeq Niyaz set a new national record.
As the swimming events drew to a close on Friday, local swimmers continued to make waves, breaking seven more national records in the process. These records were established in women's 100m butterfly, men's 100m butterfly, 4x100m mixed medley relay, men's 4x100m freestyle relay, women's 4x200m freestyle relay, men's 200m backstroke, and men's 200m backstroke.
On Wednesday, national records were broken in the men's and women's 100m butterfly events, as well as the 4x100m mixed medley relay event.
In the women's 100m butterfly, Meral set a new record of 1 minute and 13.99 seconds in the first heat, beating Hanan Hussain Haleem's previous record from the Indian Ocean Island Games. Arkes Gansald from Mongolia was just 0.82 seconds behind. In the third heat, Hanan also performed well with a time of 1 minute and 16.18 seconds.
In the men's 100m butterfly, Rihan set a new national record with a time of 1 minute and 2.41 seconds in the first heat. This was an improvement of 0.94 seconds from Mohamed Aan Hussain's time at the previous year's Commonwealth Games. Neeq also demonstrated his talent in the same heat, clocking a time of 1 minute and 10.30 seconds.
In the 4x100m mixed medley relay event, the team including Imran, Mubal, Hanan, and Hamna Ahmed delivered an outstanding performance. They broke the national record with a time of 4 minutes and 48.51 seconds, surpassing the previous record set at this year's World Aquatics Championships. The team also featured Imran, Rihan, Hamna, and Meral.
Hamna secured a second-place finish in the women's 100m backstroke heats with a time of 1 minute and 18.91 seconds. Mubal clocked 2 minutes and 8.33 seconds in the men's 200m freestyle, while Een Abbas Shareef posted a time of 1 minute and 36.57 seconds in the women's 100m breaststroke. Een then displayed her versatility by winning the women's 400m individual medley event with a time of 6 minutes and 40.93 seconds in the first heat, with Meral achieving a time of 6 minutes and 21.73 seconds in the second heat.
Thursday marked the breaking of national records in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay and the women's 4x200m freestyle relay events.
In the men's 4x100m freestyle relay, the national record was shattered with a time of 3:57.16 by the team comprising Mubal, Imran, Rihan, and Neeq. This achievement surpassed the previous record set at the Indian Ocean Island Games.
In the women's 4x200m freestyle relay, Hanan, Meral, Hamna, and Een together broke the national record with a time of 10 minutes and 50.31 seconds. This accomplishment surpassed the green team's record set at the 2016 South Asian Games.
Closing out the week on Friday, new national records were set in the men's 200m backstroke and men's 200m butterfly events.
In the men's 200m backstroke, Imran secured victory with a record-breaking time of 2 minutes and 2.88 seconds. Earlier in the day, he had set another record at this year's World Aquatics Championships.
In the men's 200m butterfly, Rihan broke the national record in the third heat with a time of 2:28.17. This improved upon his time at the World Aquatics Championships earlier in the year.
On the last day of swimming events, Hanan clocked 32.23 seconds in the women's 50m butterfly, Neeq recorded 36.13 seconds in the men's 50m backstroke, and Mubal achieved a time of 34.24 seconds in the fourth heat of the same event.
The week concluded with the women's 4x100m medley relay, where the national team recorded a time of 5 minutes and 22.80 seconds. The squad, including Hamna, Een, Meral, and Hanan marked the end of a remarkable series of achievements in the pool during the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
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