LUMUT: Despite having autism, Nur Dhia Izz Ashfadina Muhammad Asrie, 10, completed a 10 km swim across Selat Dinding here in conjunction with National Day today.
Fondly known as Dhia, she took 3 hours 40.49 sec for the swim, starting from Pangkor Jetty and ending at Weldzone Jetty in Lumut.
The swim across Selat Dinding, which started at 9am, also involved nine other swimmers aged nine to 18 and 47 officers and members of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), who accompanied the small group to the final destination.
Dhia said she was excited to complete the swim despite the waves and hot weather.
“I wasn’t afraid, had lots of fun and just a little tired as it was quite a distance.
“The 500 m distance I did at a swimming event in Port Dickson is nothing compared to this, the longest I’ve ever done. I just wanted to achieve something greater this National Day,“ she said when met after the swim.
The swimming event, organised by the Lumut RMN base, was also supported by the Nayli Saffiya Swimming Academy, the Wan Swim Club, the Manjung Municipal Council (MPM), the Weldzone Training Centre, the Association of Natural Friends Activists (Power) and several private companies.
Another participant, who has Dyslexia, Nayli Wafiy Abd Razak, 9, said she wanted to give up in the middle of the swim but remembered her mother’s advice to meditate whenever she felt tired.
“I love to swim and have been swimming since I was six. Just this time, I’m scared of jellyfish because this is my first 10 km swim in open waters.
“Thankfully, I managed to complete the swim as a result of my training at the RMN Lumut swimming pool for three hours twice a week for the past three months,“ said the girl from Tapah.
Meanwhile, MPM president Syamsul Hazeman Md Salleh said he planned to hold the event every year in conjunction with National Day.
“We notice many of these children have interests and strengths with regard to the sea and we as the host are pleased to see that they could complete the swim.
“We want to make this an annual event in Lumut where it could promote Lumut as a sport-tourism destination,“ he said. — Bernama
