KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 — As the Tokyo 2020 Olympics approaches, athletes around the world are enduring their most intense training to rank the best and clinch the colourful medals.

Such is the case for Sarawak-born national swimmer Welson Sim who spends most of his days training in the pool, doing dryland workouts, recovering and maintaining a healthy lifestyle ahead of Tokyo 2020 Olympics and his other international tournaments.

In fact, Sim said that has been his usual day-to-day routine since his childhood.

While many of his peers were enjoying their typical childhood activities, Sim was signed up for swimming classes by his parents to learn the sport.

After his swift improvements, Sim entered competitive swimming at 11 and went for his first tournament when he was almost 12.

Although he was still very young, Sim said he gave a splashing show at the competition, which earned him a few medals.

"It was then I developed a strong interest in swimming and decided to pursue it as a profession,” he added.

Following continuous victories in various competitions, he joined the national swimming squad at 15 to represent Malaysia in international tournaments.

Welson Sim was crowned male Olympian of the Year for 2017. — Bernama Pic

At 19, Sim hit a major milestone when he was qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games while competing at the 47^th Singapore National Age Group Swimming Competitions at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.

However, he pointed out that his Rio 2016 experience was rather depressing as he was not fully ready to cope with the high expectations he received from the people around him.

A day in the life of Sim

With a 5.15 am wakeup call, Sim kicks his day off with a healthy breakfast before heading to the pool at 6am to begin his morning training until 9am.

It’s often misunderstood that swimmers spend all of their training time in the pool, when in fact Sim said his training also includes various dryland workouts and exercises.

After a three-hour morning training, Sim heads back home to eat and rest before his afternoon swim.

To keep his energy up during the day, Sim said his diet plan doesn’t come with much restrictions as his body needs lots of calories, consisting of carbs and protein.

"The amount of calories I burn every day is at an incredible amount, hence I consume lots of carbs and protein to replace those I’ve burnt during my training,” he said.  

His meals often includes three bowls of rice and protein to refuel his exhausted muscles and help him return to peak potential after every training session.

During the day, Sim also takes up to two hours of napping to help his muscles recover.

At 3pm, he heads to the pool for the second round of training until 6pm.

Welson Sim is currently training with Olympic gold medalist Mack Horton in Victoria, Australia ahead of Tokyo 2020. – Picture courtesy of Nestle Malaysia

In between his training, Sim said he either goes to university for his classes or just stay at home to rest.

After a long day of jam-packed schedule, he heads to the bed to get at least seven hours of sleep before his alarm goes off again early in the morning.

Besides swimming, Sim enjoys playing badminton or going for hiking and surfing whenever he finds the time.

He also admitted that because of his jam-packed schedule, it has become quite difficult for him to maintain friendships with his peers outside swimming pool.

"Most of my friends are swimmers mainly because I don’t have the time to go out and meet my non-swimmer friends,” he added.

For the youngsters, who aspire to become professional athletes, Sim said it is best not to push themselves but enjoy the sport and take a step at a time.

"I also advise their parents to allow their children to freely pick their interests, and don’t force them to take up too many sports at one go,” he added.

Moving forward

Now at 22, there’s almost nothing that can slow the SEA Games gold medalist down once he hits the water.

He recently made a big splash in his first competition of the year by beating Olympic gold medalist Mack Horton to take gold at the Victorian Open swimming championship in Melbourne, Australia.  

Last month, Sim also smashed the national record in the 100m freestyle twice in a day at the Malaysian Open swimming championships at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil.

Prior to that, he also took home the 400m freestyle gold.

Welson Sim wins gold for 400m freestyle at the 62nd MILO/PRAM (Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia) Malaysia Open Swimming Championships 2019. – Picture courtesy of Nestle Malaysia

With many accomplishments under his belt, Sim said his biggest dream is to medal in Tokyo Olympics.

Thanks to Milo Malaysia’s sponsorship (they have been supporting him since the beginning of his career), Sim has been training heavily with Horton in Melbourne over the past three months ahead of next year’s Olympics.

"So far my training with Horton has been going very well and I plan to continue it until the World Aquatics Championships in July,” he added.

He was also the recipient of the Education Ministry-Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM)-MILO Sports Awards.