3 days ago
Keeping the passion for finswimming alive
Killian (front, on Lane 7) in action in this photo, taken during one of the event's heats in the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia.
NATIONAL swimming sensation Killian Ung is hitting a new high after transforming from a traditional swimmer to a 'finswimmer'.
Dubbed the 'Flying Fish from Sarawak', the 25-year-old aspires to bag home some honours as he prepares for the 33rd South East Asia (SEA) Games in Thailand later this year.
Killian admits that it is not going to be an easy battle for him as finswimming does not receive the same support or recognition from the Malaysian government, unlike the traditional swimming, which is among the nation's core sports.
To excel, he knows it is a big challenge to churn out convincing results, deemed as a pre-requisite to popularise finswimming.
'However, I am passionate about the sport and will continue competing as long as my body allows it, regardless of having government backing or not.
'I hope to be part of the movement that put Malaysia participation in finswimming on the global map; hence, raising awareness of finswimming in Malaysia.
'That is my ultimate mission,' the Sibu youth told thesundaypost .
'Giving it a try'
Currently pursuing a degree in sports rehabilitation at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) in Perak, Killian started off as a traditional swimmer during his school days at SMK Chung Hua Sibu.
He had represented Sarawak in various national meets, including the SEA Age Group Championship and Malaysia Games (Sukma), which he competed in three times and brought home a bronze medal.
In 2022, his UPSI coach Mohamed Rizal Hashim introduced finswimming and encouraged him to try it out.
Killian with his family and his coach, all coming to support him during the Asian Finswimming Championship in Phuket.
At the same time, a friend offered to sell him some second-hand fins.
Feeling that he was saturated in his traditional swimming and made little headways, Killian decided to give finswimming a try.
'I took up the offer as I was eager to pursue a new sport in my swimming career and surprisingly, I felt very comfortable with finswimming.'
In January 2023, Killian competed in his first National Finswimming Championship and superbly swept the gold medals in the 200m and 400m bifin events.
'The result sparked a deep interest and passion for me to continue.
'It also inspired me to pursue the sport seriously and aggressively as I saw finswimming as a new challenge and a way to extend my journey in aquatic sport.'
Killian and Coach Mohamed Rizal celebrating his gold-medal feat at the Malaysian Finswimming Championship in Penang.
Since then, Killian had participated in every major finswimming meet in Malaysia, including the Malaysia Age Group and Malaysia Fin Swimming Championships.
Along the way, he also represented the 2023 SEA Games and the World Cup in Phuket, Thailand.
Kilian currently holds the both the national records in the 200m and 400m bifin events, with a time of 1:44 and 3:46, respectively, which he clocked during the SEA Games 2023 in Cambodia.
Killian with his 'Sportsman Award (Swimming)', presented during UPSI's Sports Excellence Awards For Year 2023', staged at the university last December.
What is finswimming?
Fin swimming is an aquatic sport consisting of techniques involving swimming with the use of fins – either monofins or bifins – and propelling oneself through the surface of the water.
It is like a traditional swimming, but the swimmer is equipped with the gears to allow faster movement through the water.
The types of fin swimming events include 'surface' (SF), 'apnoea' (AP), 'immerson' (IM) and 'bifins' (BF), and the common racing distances are 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and 1,500m, as well as the relay events.
Fin swimming is a relatively new sport in SEA.
In Vietnam, the sport has been developed for many years and because of that, their team is regarded as the strongest in the SEA region.
They have essentially been dominating the finswimming events at the SEA Games level.
Across Asia, finswimming is also popular in China, South Korea, Vietnam and Japan.
Malaysia and Singapore, right now, are developing their respective talents in the sport.
Globally, finswimming is not as popular as traditional swimming, but it does have a strong following, especially in European countries like Russia, Ukraine, Hungary and also Italy – all dominating many international competitions.
Nonetheless, Colombia is among a handful of Latin American countries that are active in this sport, which is governed internationally by the Confederation Mondiale des Activities Subaquatiques (CMAS).
Killian in a photo-call with Sibu Amateur Swimming Association coach, Samuel Wong.
There are World Games and CMAS World Championships as far as finswimming is concerned, but it is yet to be classified as an Olympic sport.
Finswimming is very expensive. A high-quality monofin costs around RM5,000, a snorkel about RM300, and bifins roughly about RM800; a competition suit can even reach RM1,500.
'The registration fees and competition-related costs are also quite high; in most cases, everything is self-funded,' said Killian.
'Despite all these financial challenges, my passion for the sport and the support from my family keep me going.
'Without their diehard support, there is no way I can reach my current status.'
A family of swimmers
For Killian, swimming runs deep in his family.
'My father is a former national water polo player, and both of my brothers have also represented Sarawak in water polo,' he said, adding: 'One of my brothers recently took up finswimming too.'
Killian and his father Joseph Ung, a former national water polo player.
Killian said throughout his swimming journey, he had never for once felt discouraged or heartbroken over the lack of support.
'My family has been my biggest support system, and they always stand behind me emotionally and financially.
'Whether it is covering my expenses or flying out to watch me compete, their support is unwavering.'
Training regimen
At the moment, Killian trains about two hours per day, up to a maximum of four days per week.
This is mainly due to the availability of the pool as the facility that he uses is not always open.
In terms of preparation, Kilian said he would base it on what competition to be coming up next.
'If it's a finswimming event, I would shift to finswimming and conduct specific training, but if it's traditional swimming, I would go to that exact discipline.'
Killian is committed to both events, depending on the opportunity.
'Increased exposure and good performance on international stages can attract more attention and support for the sport in the future.
'Right now, I just focus on the University Games, maintain my time and maybe, put more focus on my future when I am working,' he said. finswimming Killian Ung malaysia Sarawak sports
