SINGAPORE - Jessie Khing Lacuna could only finished fourth as he missed the men’s 200m freestyle bronze by a mere .09 seconds during the swimming competitions of the 28th Southeast Asian Games which got going Saturday night at the OCBC Aquatics Center.
The 2012 London Olympian clocked one minute and 50.82 seconds in the final, just a hairline behind eventual bronze winner Welson Wee Sheng Sim (1:50.73) of Malaysia.
It was a sorry loss for the 21-year-old Filipino who had the best time among the finalists after registering a clocking of 1:52.78 during the heats.
Hoang Quy Phuoc of Vietnam recorded a new SEA Games record of 1:48.96 to win the gold over hometown bet Quah Zheng Wen, who settled for the silver with a time of 1:50.73.
Despite missing a podium finish, Lacuna remained satisfied with his performance, saying that it was his best swim in five years.
“I’m happy with my performance. That’s the most important thing for me,” said Lacuna, who trained for two months in Canberra, Australia for the biennial meet.
“I think I did my best for this race naman. I think for me, ‘yun ang pinaka-best kong swim after five years.”
Lacuna is entered in five more events -- the 100m and 400m freestyle, the 100m and 200m butterfly, and the 200m individual medley.
Source: Reuben Terrado of Spin.ph
