Allen Ong

Allen Ong

Personal information
Full name	Allen Ong Hou Ming
National team	Malaysia
Born	2 November 1979 Ipoh, Malaysia
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	72 kg (159 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle
College team	University of Minnesota (U.S.)
Coach	Kelly Kremer (U.S.)
Medal record Men's swimming Competitor for Malaysia Southeast Asian Games 2001 Kuala Lumpur 100 m freestyle 2003 Hanoi 100 m freestyle 2003 Hanoi 50 m freestyle 2001 Kuala Lumpur 50 m freestyle

Allen Ong Hou Ming (born 2 November 1979) is a Malaysian former swimmer, who specialised in sprint freestyle events.^[1] He is a two-time Olympian (2000 and 2004), a double gold medalist in the 100 m freestyle at the Southeast Asian Games (2001 and 2003), and a varsity swimmer for the Minnesota Golden Gophers at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.^[2][3]

Ong made his official debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He failed to advance into the semifinals in any of his individual events, finishing fortieth in the 100 m freestyle (51.93), and thirty-seventh in the 200 m freestyle (1:54.53).^[4][5] He also placed twenty-second, as a member of the Malaysian team, in the 4×100 m medley relay (3:48.32).^[6]

Two years later, Ong blasted a Malaysian record of 23.62 to pick up a seventh seed in the 50 m freestyle at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.^[7]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Ong shortened his program, swimming only in two individual events. He cleared FINA B-standard entry times of 23.49 (50 m freestyle) from the Malaysian Open Championships in Kuala Lumpur, and 51.57 (100 m freestyle) from the Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.^[2][8][9] In the 100 m freestyle, Ong challenged seven other swimmers in heat four, including fellow two-time Olympians Alexandros Aresti of Cyprus and George Gleason of the Virgin Islands. He edged out Bulgaria's Raichin Antonov to take a seventh spot and fiftieth overall by 0.29 of a second, outside his record time of 52.04.^[10][11] In his second event, 50 m freestyle, Ong matched his forty-sixth place tie with SEA Games champion Arwut Chinnapasaen on the morning's preliminaries. Swimming in heat five, he managed to pull off a fifth-place effort in 23.52, just 0.03 of a second off his entry time.^[12][13]

References

1. "Allen Ong". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
2. "Yeo, Sirisanont and Lim Lead Southeast Asian Games With Three Gold Medals Apiece". Swimming World Magazine. 9 December 2003. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
3. "Golden Gopher Guys in Greece". Swimming World Magazine. 31 July 2004. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
4. "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 100m Freestyle Heat 5" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 114. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
5. "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 200m Freestyle Heat 2" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 124. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
6. "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 4×100m Medley Relay Heat 1" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 346. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
7. "Wu and Qi Win Third Gold Apiece, as China Winds Up a Dominant Performance at Asian Games". Swimming World Magazine. 5 October 2002. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
8. "Ong, Lim Set Records on Final Day of Malaysian Invite". Swimming World Magazine. 31 July 2004. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
9. "Swimming – Men's 100m Freestyle Startlist (Heat 4)" (PDF). Athens 2004. Omega Timing. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
10. "Men's 100m Freestyle Heat 4". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 18 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
11. Thomas, Stephen (18 August 2004). "Men’s 100 Freestyle Prelims Day 4: Lezak, Crocker Fail to Qualify. Hoogie Best with 48.70". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
12. "Men's 50m Freestyle Heat 5". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 20 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
13. Thomas, Stephen (19 August 2004). "Men’s 50 Freestyle Prelims Day 6: Hall Splashes a Hot 22.04, Fastest Qualifier; Lezak Makes This One but Popov, Hoogie Bow Out". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 19 April 2013.