Daniel Bego
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel William Henry Bego |
| National team |
 Malaysia
|
| Born |
18 September 1989 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia |
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 64 kg (141 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Freestyle, butterfly |
| Coach | Gavin Urquhart |
|
Medal record
|
|
Daniel William Henry Bego (born 18 September 1989) is a Malaysian swimmer, who specialises in freestyle and butterfly events. He emerged as one of Malaysia's most promising and outstanding swimmers, winning a total of fifteen medals (nine gold, two silver, and four bronze) at the Southeast Asian Games, and breaking six national records. He was the first Malaysian swimmer to compete in three different events at a single Olympic Games.
Bego, a native of Kuching, is the youngest of six siblings in the family. His mother Amy Wong, is a registered nurse, who gave up her job to nurture and care for her children; his father Henry Bego, on the other hand, works offshore as a senior diving technician, and is often away from the family. His half-sister Kimberley Yap is a former swimmer and triathlete, who eventually won gold medals for her category at the Southeast Asian Games. He is of Iban-Chinese heritage, and can speak fluent English and Mandarin.
Bego began his swimming career at the very young age, when he and his family moved to Sri Petaling, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. He made his official debut at the 2003 Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam, where he captured a full set of medals in the freestyle events. He was undisputedly the best swimmer of Malaysia during his peak years in the free-style, winning three gold medals at the Olympic qualifying trials in Singapore. Despite his success, Bego failed to secure his place for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, after finishing outside the qualifying time of 1:55.08 in the 200 m freestyle event, clocking only at 1:56.20.
In 2005, Bego broke a national record of 1:54.10 in the 200 m freestyle, and achieved his personal best of 4:03.10, by winning gold medals at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Saudi Arabia. He attained qualifying places at the Southeast Asian Games in Manila, Philippines, where he won three medals, including two golds for the 200 m freestyle and for the 100 m butterfly. In 2006, Bego competed at the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, and at the Commonwealth Games, but missed out of the medal podium in the finals. He was able to win two silver medals for the men's butterfly events, with impressive times at the FINA Youth World Swimming Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In following year, Bego aimed to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing at the Malaysian Open Championships and at the Japan International Championships. He swam the 100 m freestyle in a personal best time of 51.32 seconds, and set a national record in the 200 m freestyle. In the 200 m butterfly event, he broke another national record of 2:00.12, set by Anthony Ang at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, booking him a ticket under the B-standard category for the Beijing games. A few months later, Bego competed in five individual and three relay events at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand. Although he managed to repeat the silver medal in the 100 m freestyle, Bego successfully defended his titles and shattered his own personal records in the 200 m freestyle and 100 m butterfly, earning him two more additional spots in the same category for the Olympics. He also added two bronze in the 200 m butterfly, and in the 4×100 m freestyle relay, for a total of five medals. He was named 2007 Malaysian Olympian of the Year for his full recognition and outstanding achievements in the Southeast Asian Games, along with his counterpart teammate Khoo Cai Lin.
...
Wikipedia