THE UPSET: JIWOO JUNG STUNS THE FAVOURITE AND BREAKS A MEET RECORD IN THE 50M FLY

SHAH ALAM — On paper, Event 112 was Damian Seth Lim's race to lose. The Boys 13–15 50m Butterfly had a clear favourite — a swimmer seeded at 26.08, within touching distance of the existing meet record of 26.64, and widely regarded as the best short-distance flyer in his age group. The lane next to him was occupied by Jiwoo Jung, seeded at 26.65, a time that placed him outside the record entirely.

What happened next will be talked about for some time.

The Race

When the results board lit up, it did not show Damian Seth Lim's name at the top. It showed Jiwoo Jung — and a time of 25.90.

Not only had the 15-year-old from SM Sri Kuala Lumpur (PP) beaten the favourite, he had gone faster than Damian's own seed time. He had smashed the previous meet record of 26.64, held by Aslan Adnan of MKSH1 since July 2023, by 0.74 seconds. Damian, to his credit, improved his own time to 26.24 — but it was not enough. He finished second.

Jiwoo's reaction when he saw the scoreboard was one of pure disbelief.

"I had to double check if I wasn't misreading the lanes," he admitted afterwards. "My PB was already close to the record, but I was not the fastest one, so I never expected it to be me."

An Upset Built in Training

What made the result all the more striking was Jiwoo's mindset going into the race. He had not arrived at the blocks with ambitions of gold or records. He had simply decided to swim his own race.

"I didn't expect to win the gold in 50m Fly at all," he said. "The time gap between me and Damian was pretty big, and he was the solid number one flyer in my age group. I just told myself to focus on my own lane and set my PB rather than think about winning."

That decision — to race inward rather than outward — produced the fastest time in the event's history at this meet.

When pressed on what had changed, Jiwoo pointed not to any tactical adjustment but to the unglamorous foundation of the sport. "Definitely all those tough sets in training. I really focused on minimising my mistakes and building up my strength."

A Butterfly Double and More

The 50m Fly was not Jiwoo's only story of the week. He returned in Event 206 to win the Boys 13–15 100m Butterfly in 58.02 — completing a butterfly double that few would have predicted at the outset of the meet. He added a third gold in Event 412, the 50m Backstroke, touching in 28.94 to finish the championships with three golds and 42 points.

A third-place finish in the 200m Butterfly (2:20.07) and a fourth in the 200m IM (2:22.03) rounded out a programme that demonstrated genuine range across multiple strokes — not just the sprint that made headlines.

What Comes Next

As a foreign swimmer, Jiwoo is ineligible for MSSM or SUKMA, the domestic pathways that will now occupy many of his rivals. His gaze is already fixed elsewhere.

"I'm going straight back to the pool and getting ready for the major meets coming up later this year," he said.

For Damian Seth Lim, there will be another day and another race to reclaim his status at the top of the 13–15 fly rankings. For Jiwoo Jung, the record is already his — and the major meets are waiting.

Jiwoo Jung finished MSS Selangor Aquatics 2026 with 3 golds, 1 meet record and 42 points. He represents SM Sri Kuala Lumpur (PP). The Boys 13–15 50m Butterfly meet record of 25.90 was previously held by Aslan Adnan (MKSH1, 2023).