Malaysia claimed silver in the men’s 12 crew 250 metre race today, ending a 30-year wait for a medal in the traditional boat race event at the SEA Games.
Malaysia clocked two minutes and 9.545 seconds to place second in the final. The team comprised medallists from last year’s Malaysia Games.
Thailand secured the gold on 2:03.764s, while Cambodia finished third on 2:10.120s.
Malaysia also claimed bronze in the women’s three crew 250m event after clocking 4:26.028s. Vietnam (2:49.560s) and Cambodia (2:49.636s) took gold and silver, respectively, in the event.
Malaysia Canoe Association president Datuk Michael Wong was pleased to see his athletes claim the nation’s first medals from the sport since the 1993 Singapore edition (bronze).
“Athletes from Johor and the Federal Territories were combined after the Malaysia Games last year (to form the national team),” Michael said. “The move paid dividends as we were able to compete alongside worlds class teams, such as Indonesia and Thailand here.”