NEW CLARK CITY, Dec 6 ― Having been forced to return the gold medal ‘won’ at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games following a doping offence, Wendy Ng Yan Yee responded in the sweetest way ― she came back stronger and reclaimed the gold in the women’s three-metre individual springboard event at the 30th SEA Games in the Philippines, today.
The 26-year old national diver, who won the silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games was unstoppable, taking the lead right from the first round for a total five round score of 298.90 points.
Teammate, Jasmine Lai Pui Yee clinched the silver medal with 241.95 points, while Vietnamese diver, Ngo Phuong Mai came in third out of eight divers with 241.25 points.
“I’m just really happy to reclaim the gold medal I lost at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games although today’s gold is not similar compared to 2017 in which I did my personal best (342.90) points,” she told reporters after the event.
The gold medal won by Yan Yee at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games was withdrawn by the SEA Games Federation (SEAGF) after she tested positive for using sibutramine, a stimulant commonly found in slimming products.
She was also banned for eight months by FINA, the world governing body for aquatics due to the doping offence, which also saw her missing the the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Australia. ― Bernama
