NATIONAL para swimmer Abd Halim Mohammad concluded Malaysia’s participation at the 2025 World Para Swimming Championships by setting a new personal best in the men’s 100 metre breaststroke SB8 event.
The athlete clocked 1 minute 14 seconds to secure sixth place among eight finalists at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.
Abd Halim expressed satisfaction that his performance exceeded his initial targets for the championship.
He had qualified for the final after finishing seventh in the heats with a time of 1:15.52.
The 27-year-old also achieved a personal best of 27.16 seconds in the men’s 50 metre freestyle S8 final last Thursday.
Abd Halim described his Singapore performance as a significant improvement in both timing and technique compared to his debut at the Manchester championships two years ago.
He will now focus his training on the upcoming 2025 ASEAN Para Games in Thailand.
The Sabah-born swimmer aims to compete in five events at the ASEAN Para Games, including one new discipline, to maintain his gold medal contributions.
Andrei Kalina, competing under the Neutral Paralympic Athletes banner, won the gold medal in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB8 with a time of 1:08.43.
Daniil Smirnov, also representing NPA, claimed the silver medal with 1:10.72.
Spain’s Oscar Salguero Galisteo, the 2016 Paralympic Games gold medallist, earned the bronze medal.
Malaysian teammate Brenda Anellia Larry recorded a new personal best of 4:37.95 in the women’s 200m freestyle S4 heats but finished last among nine swimmers.
Muhammad Nur Syaiful Zulkafli withdrew from his final event, the men’s 100m freestyle S5, due to health issues related to his spinal cord disability.
The two-time bronze medallist had previously finished fifth in the men’s 100 metre breaststroke SB4 final on the championship’s opening day. – Bernama
