Lee Yiat Qing continues Malaysia's SEA Games platform diving winning streak

Fifteen-year-old Lee Yiat Qing took home 2023 Southeast Asian Games gold in the women's 10m platform diving with 253.80 points on Wednesday (10 May) having only taken up the discipline earlier this year. She continues the winning streak from superstar diving compatriot, Pandelela Rinong who has won the previous five out of seven editions in the discipline but has an overall tally of nine golds and one silver.

Rinong has also won two Olympic medals and seven World Championship podiums.

Vietnam's Bui Thi Hong Giang bagged silver with 242.20 points, with Indonesia's Gladies Lariesa Garina Haga claiming bronze (228.00).

"I wasn't expecting much because my difficulty was set low but I just focused on each dive," Lee told Olympics.com exclusively after the competition. "I just shut myself off and just concentrated on my job, so there was no thinking about what was happening nor pressure."

Having never won a national championship and yet to even compete in the Malaysia Games, an under-21 multisports Games among Malaysian states, the Kuala Lumpur diver has exploded right onto the scene at the SEA Games. Her eyes are set on the Olympics, but isn't too pressured about making her debut at Paris 2024.

"Yes, definitely my aim is the Olympics, I'm not sure about Paris yet, but I want to be there in 2028."

Bui Thi was happy with her silver medal, "especially since I suffered a wrist injury, which was hurting really bad. After my last dive I had to immediately get it treated with ice. Of course my aim was to get the gold medal, but this is still a good achievement".

Another teenager, Haga, 17, is the youngest Indonesian diver to be champion at three senior national diving competitions and was the only diver from her nation to compete at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, where she competed in the 1m and 3m springboard events.

SEA games 2023 women’s 10m platform – results

1 Lee Yiat Qing MAS 253.80

2 Bui Thi Hong Giang VIE 242.20

3 Gladies Lariesa Garina Haga INA 228.00

4 Nur Eilisha Rania MAS 227.05

5 Lilli Prateep THA 225.70

6 Ong Rei En SGP 188.10

7 Lu-Si Tan Minnich CAM 130.80