DOUBLE BOOST FOR LEE'S CONFIDENCE

S'porean adds 50m free to 100m title as Gan repels threat of Filipino-Canadian Sanchez

- David Lee Senior Sports Correspondent

But with his glasses off and goggles on, the Singaporean transformed into Superman at the Huamark Aquatic Center as he became Asean’s fastest man on Dec 11 when he won the SEA Games men’s 50m freestyle final in 21.92 seconds, ahead of teammate Teong Tzen Wei (22.42) and Malaysia’s Tong Yu Jing (22.48).

His first win in this event comes on top of his men’s 100m free victory a day earlier, and it was fitting that he collected his gold medal from former teammate and Singapore’s only Olympic champion Joseph Schooling.

The elated Lee, who turned 23 on Dec 12, has looked a far cry from the deflated man he was at the Berlin Open in April when he missed the cut in his pet event, the 50m butterfly, for the World Aquatics Championships. While he did eventually qualify for the 50m freestyle in the world championships, self-doubts remained in the buildup to the SEA Games.

Lee said: "I feel relieved. I'm glad to know my training has paid off and I can never complain about a personal-best time. I'm inspired by my roommate (Jonathan Tan) who won the double last time, and I'm happy to put my name in the books alongside him.

"Before yesterday, I had a bit of doubts in my preparation. There were checkpoints I felt were off, so I was a little bit shaken... But credit to my coaches, they helped keep me in the right mental space to keep going.

"Yesterday's win brought my confidence back, that I'm on the right track. These SEA Games have been about learning to let go and trust the process."