Hangzhou 2022: Marathon Swimmers rise to icy Qiandao challenge

By Jeremiah Ong

Team Singapore’s marathon swimmers completed their 10km swim at the chilly open-water course at the Chun’an Jieshou Sports Centre on Friday (Oct 6) and Saturday.

Held on the scenic Qiandao Lake, the event was making its first appearance at the Asian Games, despite being part of the Olympic programme since 2008.

In the women’s final on Friday morning, Chantal Liew finished a commendable fifth in the 13-women field in a time of 2:08:12.3. The 2017 SEA Games silver medallist was present at the previous Asiad but as a pool swimmer, competing in the backstroke and freestyle events.

“Fifth at the Asian Games, to 2018 me (would have been) a big deal. But now, I just expect more from myself and I wanted to be in the fight for the medals but it's okay we're learning,” she said.

Returning to the Asiad, she would be swimming a distance a hundred times what she swam in 2018 where she competed in the 100m backstroke, all while wrestling with the choppy conditions of the open waters.

Olympian Liew finished fifth at the Asiad in her open-water debut. (Photo: SportSG/ Stanley Cheah)

“The water condition was a bit choppy. It was a pretty windy day and the water from turn buoy one to three was rough. It didn't affect me too much but definitely affected the other girls. I think they swam a bit off-course. But I think it probably tired out the whole field and made things a bit more difficult, but I enjoyed swimming in choppy water,” Liew said.

Despite making the top five, Liew felt she could have executed a better race.

“In general, I was pretty disappointed with how the race played out. I wasn't able to stay with the top pack, but after the first couple of rounds, I was pretty happy with the way I swam. Maybe the Taiwanese girl (Teng Yu-wen) was a bit fresher than me at the end and got me, but overall, it was an okay race and a good learning opportunity.”

Liew felt she could have been more aggressive from the get go to keep up with the front three but was pleased to be leading the chase pack and pushing the pace.

“I should have worked a bit harder to try and hang on with them so yeah it's gonna (have to) be the next race. My next marathon race is probably gonna be pretty similar and I'll get another chance to work on that,” Liew said.

The Olympian was also proud of the growing quality of marathon swimming across the continent, especially in a sport “dominated by the Europeans, Americans and Australians”.

As she aims for a return to the Olympics in Paris next year, Liew knows speed is key.

“My biggest takeaway is I just need to get faster, get my aerobic pace a lot faster and try and keep my heart rate down even though I'm swimming faster.”

In the men’s 10km final, Artyom Lukasevits finished 12th (2:02:37.0) while compatriot Ritchie Oh finished 14th (2:04:40.8) in a 16-man field.

Debutant Lukasevits swimming in the Qiandao Lake in the men’s 10km final. (Photo: SportSG/ Stanley Cheah)

For Lukasevits, the result was far from perfect but the lessons he took were extremely valuable.

“I was hoping for a better performance, but learned more in this race than I could have through months of training,”

The 19-year-old plans to adjust his training methods after discovering weaknesses in his race at the Asiad, with the hope of becoming stronger in the next meet and an eye on the podium at the next edition.

For Oh, it was a race with no regrets, giving everything he had and leaving everything out in the icy waters of Qiandao.

“My performance was alright. Leading up to the games, I was struggling with a shoulder injury and multiple health issues. Overall, I’m happy with my debut,” Oh said.

Oh’s Asiad debut came off the back of a shoulder injury and multiple health issues but he still competed in the men’s 10km final on Saturday (Oct 7). (Photo: SportSG/ Stanley Cheah)

Oh sported a bright smile before his race and enjoyed the challenge of tackling the course.

“The weather was pretty cold as there was a typhoon around there. It only affected the start of the race as it was freezing before I jumped in. The water was calm and choppy in certain areas of the course. It was fun adapting to the current throughout the race,“ he added.

The 21-year-old will serve his National Service in a month but has his sights firmly set on the 2028 Olympics. His teammates Liew and Lukasevits will travel to Israel next month for the Marathon Swim World Series.

The 19th Asian Games are held in Hangzhou, China from 23 September to 8 October 2023. For the latest Team Singapore coverage and news, follow Team Singapore on their social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) or visit the official Team Singapore website.