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]
| 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
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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
edit- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Allen Ong". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
- ^ a b "Yeo, Sirisanont and Lim Lead Southeast Asian Games With Three Gold Medals Apiece". Swimming World Magazine. 9 December 2003. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
- ^ "Golden Gopher Guys in Greece". Swimming World Magazine. 31 July 2004. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
- ^ "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 100m Freestyle Heat 5" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 114. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 200m Freestyle Heat 2" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 124. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ^ "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 4×100m Medley Relay Heat 1" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 346. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ^ "Wu and Qi Win Third Gold Apiece, as China Winds Up a Dominant Performance at Asian Games". Swimming World Magazine. 5 October 2002. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
- ^ "Ong, Lim Set Records on Final Day of Malaysian Invite". Swimming World Magazine. 31 July 2004. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
- ^ "Swimming – Men's 100m Freestyle Startlist (Heat 4)". Athens 2004. Omega Timing. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ^ "Men's 100m Freestyle Heat 4". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 18 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- ^ 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. Archived from the original on 3 April 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ "Men's 50m Freestyle Heat 5". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 20 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- ^ 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. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.