Swimming with pride

Out of boredom and out of anything else to do, I watched the SEA games live this afternoon. Watching it in a Singapore channel means it shows mostly Singaporean athletes, although here and there, I got glimpses of Indonesian athletes. And surprisingly, I got a dose of nationalism watching one of the events.

It was the 400 m Men Team Medley final. Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore were the favourites with Indonesia as the dark horse. And it was clear when the race started, Thailand got an early lead with Singapore and Indonesia following closely and Vietnam later joined the four country race. If I'm not wrong, the sequence was backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle last. Indonesia went to the last 100m second and Richard Sambera was swimming. He was one body length at the start, half a body length at the last 50m, tied for first at the last 20m, and clearly ahead for the last 15m or so. This man who will turn 34 later this month, in a pool filled with young swimmers some perhaps half his age, and at his last swim at his last SEA games, just won gold for Indonesia. When he touched for the finish, I was beamed with pride for being an Indonesian. What a way to end a career.