Wan Azlan bin Wan Ali Abdullah (professionally known as Wan Azlan Abdullah; born 5 June 1975) is a retired Malaysian swimmer, who specialised in freestyle and in individual medley events.[1] He is a two-time Olympian (1996 and 2000), and a gold medalist at the Southeast Asian Games (1997). While studying in the United States, Abdullah trained for the Pine Crest Swim Club in Fort Lauderdale, Florida under his full-time coach David López-Zubero, a bronze medalist for Spain at the 1980 Summer Olympics.[2] During his college career, Abdullah swam for the University of Georgia's Georgia Bulldogs swimming and diving team under head coach Jack Bauerle.[3]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Wan Azlan bin Wan Ali Abdullah | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National team |  Malaysia | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 5 June 1975 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 77 kg (170 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle, medley | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Pine Crest Swim Club (U.S.) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | University of Georgia (U.S.) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | David López-Zubero (U.S.) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Abdullah made his first Malaysian team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. There, he failed to reach the top 16 final in any of his individual events, finishing thirty-sixth in the 200 m individual medley (2:12.11), and twenty-seventh in the 400 m individual medley (4:38.95, a slowest prelims time).[4][5] He also placed twentieth, along with his Malaysian teammates Alex Lim, Elvin Chia, and Anthony Ang, in the 4×100 m medley relay (3:56.24).[6]
The following year, at the 1997 Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, Abdullah won two gold medals each in the 200 m individual medley (2:07.80), and in the 400 m individual medley (4:32.75).[7][8]
Abdullah swam only in the men's 400 m individual medley at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He achieved a FINA B-cut of 4:34.50 from the Asian Swimming Championships in Busan, South Korea.[9] He challenged seven other swimmers in heat two, including 1996 Olympic silver medalist Jani Sievinen of Finland, and 16-year-old George Bovell of Trinidad and Tobago. Abdullah posted a time of 4:36.90 to save a seventh spot over Croatia's Sandro Tomaš by a 1.4-second advantage. Abdullah failed to reach the top 8 final, as he placed forty-first overall in the prelims.[10][11][12]
References
edit- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Wan Azlan Abdullah". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
- ^ Megan, M.K (5 February 1993). "Wan Azlan caught in a dilemma". New Straits Times. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
- ^ Murphy, Bill (15 September 2000). "After years of practice, swimmers' dreams come true". The Red and Black. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- ^ "Atlanta 1996: Aquatics (Swimming) – Men's 200m Individual Medley Heat 1" (PDF). Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 48. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
- ^ "Atlanta 1996: Aquatics (Swimming) – Men's 400m Individual Medley Heat 1" (PDF). Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 50. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
- ^ "Atlanta 1996: Aquatics (Swimming) – Men's 4×100m Medley Relay Heat 1" (PDF). Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 52. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
- ^ "Ian misses out on final but breaks 13-year-old national record". The Star (Malaysia). 9 October 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
- ^ "OCM/NSC should monitor US-based swimmers". Utusan Malaysia. 23 September 2000. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
- ^ "Swimming – Men's 400m Individual Medley Startlist (Heat 2)" (PDF). Sydney 2000. Omega Timing. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ^ "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 400m Individual Medley Heat 2" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 316. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
- ^ "Dolan breaks own world mark in 400 IM". Canoe.ca. 17 September 2000. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Allen Ong rewrites 200m freestyle national record". Utusan Malaysia. 17 September 2000. Retrieved 10 June 2013.