NOMA HORIUCHI BREAKS THREE MEET RECORDS AND SIGNALS A GENERATIONAL TALENT

KUALA LUMPUR — The record books at MSS Selangor Aquatics rarely yield to swimmers in the Girls 12&U category. The times that populate them are typically set by older, more developed competitors, and they tend to stand for years — sometimes many years. Noma Horiuchi does not appear to have received this memo.

Over four days at the National Aquatic Centre, the 12-and-under swimmer claimed four gold medals, shattered three meet records, and accumulated 90 points in a performance that left veteran observers searching for a fitting comparison.

Tearing Through the Record Books

The oldest record Noma dismantled had been waiting since 2016. In Event 303, the Girls 200m IM, she clocked 2:33.97 to erase Lim Shun Qi's mark of 2:38.77 by a margin of 4.80 seconds. Nine years is a long time for any record to stand at a competitive age group meet. For a swimmer still aged 12 or under to end that tenure — and to do so with such authority — demanded attention.

She followed it in Event 409, the 50m Backstroke, with a time of 32.67 that swept away Chong Xin Lin's 2019 record of 33.98. A mark that had survived seven years fell by 1.31 seconds.

Then came perhaps the most telling entry of Noma's week. In Event 219, the 100m Backstroke, she broke the meet record with 1:10.99 — improving on a time of 1:13.38 by 2.39 seconds. The previous holder of that record was Noma Horiuchi herself, from 2025.

At an age when most swimmers are still learning the competitive landscape, Noma is already rendering her own best times obsolete.

A Four-Gold Campaign

The three record-breaking swims each produced gold medals, and a fourth gold elsewhere across the programme brought Noma's total to four individual titles for the week. She also featured on the silver podium in additional events, confirming that her dominance was not confined to the lanes she broke records in.

The consistency across backstroke and IM disciplines hints at a swimmer who has already developed not just speed but technical foundation — the kind that tends to carry swimmers forward rather than plateau early.

Why This Matters

Context matters in age-group swimming. The Girls 12&U category is, by definition, the youngest competitive tier at MSS Selangor — an entry point into a system that will eventually funnel its best performers towards MSSM, SUKMA and beyond. Records in this bracket are frequently set by swimmers at the older end of the age range, competing in the final year of eligibility before moving up.

For a swimmer in this category to break not one but three records — including one nine years old — and to do it by margins that are not close but emphatic, is rare. For that same swimmer to have already held one of those records herself from the previous year is rarer still.

Whatever Noma Horiuchi does next — in the older age categories, in future editions of MSSS, in whatever competitions follow — the performances she produced this week have served formal notice that a significant talent is emerging.

The record books, already rewritten once, should brace themselves.

Noma Horiuchi finished MSS Selangor Aquatics 2026 with 4 golds, 3 meet records and 90 points in the Girls 12&U category. She broke records in the 100m Backstroke, 200m IM and 50m Backstroke, with the oldest having stood since 2016.