Tao Li will head to the SEA Games with her most daunting
Tao Li will head to the SEA Games with her most daunting schedule since her debut in 2005.
The Asian Games champion has been pencilled in for nine events and her coach, Ian Turner, said today she will be challenging whenever she goes on the blocks in Indonesia.
As of now, the 21-year-old will swim in the 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly events, the same three events in the backstroke, and the three relays – 4x100m free, 4x200m free and 4x100m medley.
She won five golds in 2009, the most in three SEA Games so far, making it 13 in total.
If Tao Li bags her biggest gold-medal haul in Indonesia, she will be the leading candidate for the title “Athlete of the Games”, and it will be a huge boost to her confidence as she zeroes in on the 2012 Olympics.
Speaking on Sunday at swimming’s “Open House” lunch session before the team leave for the SEA Games on Tuesday, the 1.61m star clearly had the Olympic Games on her mind, when she said: “This is definitely a preparation for next year. There is a lot of intensity swimming in nine events and I need to swim about 16 times at high intensity, so the SEA Games is a preparation for London.”
The 26th SEA Games will be jointly-held in the Indonesian capital Jakarta and the city of Palembang from Nov 11 to 22.
The swimming programme will be held at Palembang’s Jakabaring Sports Complex’s aquatic centre from Nov 12 to 17.
With a 17-strong team, Singapore aims to retain their standing at the top of the medal pile in swimming, and Tao Li will lead the way.
Tao Li successfully defended her 50m butterfly crown at last year’s Asian Games. She improved in the 100 fly, winning silver after collecting a bronze in 2006.
She became the first Singapore swimmer to qualify for an Olympic final when she finished fifth in the 100 fly at the 2008 Olympics.
She will be one of the biggest names at the SEA Games, and she will do her best to live up to the billing.
Fresh from winning silver in the 50m fly at the FINA/Arena Swimming World Cup at the Singapore Sports School on Saturday, she admitted it will be tricky managing all her events during the six days.