KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 16 — The Malaysian Swimming Federation (MAS) are planning a special training programme for Bertrand Rhodict Lises, who is the only diver to have qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
MAS secretary-general Andy Low said the 18-year-old Sarawakian is keen to undergo a rigorous training regime to increase his diving difficulty for the Olympic challenge at the Paris Aquatic Centre from July 27 to August 10.
He said the federation, with the support from the National Sports Council (NSC), will guide Bertrand to achieve the best possible results in the men’s 10m platform event in Paris.
“We have to look for an attachment country, where the coach there will train him. There’s no point if, let’s say, we send (him) to China, then the coach has got no time to supervise him.
“Among the suggestions are the United States and Mexico, we need to have a coach who can really look after him. This is still a proposal, we haven’t finalised anything,” he said at a press conference, adding that technical director Bryan Nickson Lomas is working on the matter.
Meanwhile, Andy said MAS will wait for the Road To Gold (RTG) committee meeting at the end of this month to see if Bertrand will be included in the programme for better preparations.
“Any decision whether an athlete is included or dropped will be taken by the committee. If he is not in, we will appeal to them,” he added.
National diving aces Datuk Pandelela Rinong and Nur Dhabitah Sabri are facing the axe from the RTG after failing to qualify for the Olympics during the recent World Aquatics Championships in Doha, which was the last qualifying tournament for diving.
The RTG is an additional special support programme to help elite athletes achieve the country’s first Olympic gold medal in Paris 2024 or Los Angeles 2028.
Athletes under the RTG will receive an additional allowance of RM3,000 a month (on top of the usual allowance), as well as other special benefits in terms of sports science expertise, participation in overseas tournaments and coaching. — Bernama
