Doing research for my other blog, I came across the English Channel 32.8km swim-across story of a few years ago. Reading it would seem like a Malaysia-Singapore show of “who is more groovy.”

The second Malaysian to swim across the English channel is Lennard Lee.

* occupation then: medical student at Cambridge University
* when: July 2004
* time: 9 hours and 45 minutes.
* age then: 20.
* Honours: The first Cambridge undergraduate to accomplish the feat. At Cambridge, he’s also captain of the swimming team and broke several university swimming records. I am not sure if I’m seeing double, but I saw his name listed as captain of the Oxford University swimming team later.

Contrast that to the first Singaporean to do so, Thum Ping Tjin, 25

* occupation then: doctorate student in Commonwealth History at Oxford University
* when: August 2005
* time: 12 hours 24 minutes
* Age then: 25
* Honours:  Rhodes scholar. Member of Singapore national swimming team. Has participated in the Olympics. The first Oxford graduate to accomplish the feat. At age 16, went to Harvard. Captain of Oxford’s swimming team.

These are incredible achievements, worthy rolemodels for our students: not just to be excellent academically, but also in other fields.

Incidentally, the first Malaysian to do so is Abd Malik Mydin, 28 in August 2003. He’s also the first South East Asian to do so. He achieved it in 17 hours and 42 minutes.

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