KUALA LUMPUR: The national swimmers will be introduced to short course training aimed at improving their speed and power.
Megan Oesting, the newly appointed Malaysia Aquatics (MAS) technical director for swimming, hopes that integrating this new strategy into their training routine will enable the swimmers to achieve impressive times and win medals in major events.
Short course training takes place in a 25m pool, as opposed to the standard 50m long course pool.
Short course competitions are popular in the United States, and there is also a biennial short course world championships.
Oesting, who joined MAS last month, said short course competitions are big in the US.
"There has been minimal emphasis on short course swimming training here in the past," said Oesting, a former US national swimmer and multiple Pan American Games medallist.
"We aim to introduce swimmers to short course training, which can enhance their skills. Short course training focuses on developing power and speed, which can benefit swimmers during long course competitions.
"During short course training, swimmers are required to do more turns, allowing them to hold their breath longer.
Oesting said plans are in place for the swimmers to compete in their first short course competition at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Thailand on. Nov 21-30.
Additionally, she suggested short course World Cup meets in China (Oct 18-20), South Korea (Oct 24-26), and Singapore (Oct 31-Nov 2).
"We will also host the Malaysian Open short course championships on July 5-7, serving as a qualifier for the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games," Oesting added.