Harith Aiman Adha bin Norasli delivered a commanding performance at the 2nd MILO-East Meets West (EMV) Invitational Swimming Championships 2026, winning both the Boys 16-60 individual title and leading his team to Mixed Relay gold.
Harith clocked 00:19:19 to secure first place in his individual event on 9 November. He maintained a disciplined, consistent pace throughout the race, gradually increasing his effort toward the final stretch.
“My main approach was to maintain a consistent pace throughout the race without using too much energy at the beginning,” he said. “I focused on staying controlled and gradually increasing my effort towards the final part of the race.”
The event, held in a “Pool OWS” format, required swimmers to adapt to a pool environment while maintaining open-water endurance strategies. Harith, who has an open-water background, credited his success to a focus on steady rhythm and controlled turns.
On the same day, Harith anchored Team A to victory in the Mixed Relay, finishing with a team total time of 00:33:32, closely followed by Team E (00:33:33) and Team F (00:34:36). Despite coming from different groups, Harith noted that the team shared a single objective.
“Everyone played an important role in contributing to the team’s overall performance,” Harith said. “Winning the overall mixed relay showed that teamwork and cooperation are important regardless of where we come from.”
In the final leg of the relay, Harith maintained significant speed, clocking a 00:01:23 split on the final stretch to clinch the win. Knowing the overall victory was on the line provided an extra surge of motivation, he added.
“Knowing that the overall victory was at stake definitely gave me extra motivation,” Harith said. “I just wanted to make sure I gave everything I had for my teammates.”
Across the other boys categories, Khai Cheng Bryston Lee topped the Boys 14-15 division in 00:18:00, ahead of Azfar Qayyum Mohamad Fahidan (00:20:06) and Jaydon Goh Jen Roong (00:20:27). In the Boys 11-13 category, Khai Xu Braylon Lee claimed first place in 00:21:53, followed by Michael Yiu Fai Collins (00:22:33) and Heng Xi Chin (00:22:41). In Harith’s Boys 16-60 division, Bin Noorul Hisham Noorul Qaisy took second in 00:22:21 and Bin Mohd Shah Riyad Rizqin Shah third in 00:25:01.
In the girls events, Ing Siew Magdalene Lau won the Girls 16-60 division in 00:21:15, with Jia Ying Cheah second in 00:22:57. The Girls 14-15 race was won by Chi Ning Lee in 00:22:53, ahead of Wan Qin Chia (00:24:05) and Nur Arissa Damia Mohd Sufian (00:25:06). Meanwhile, Humaira Nurwafa Mohamad Fahidan captured the Girls 11-13 title in 00:21:57, closely pursued by Huixin Adelin Tan (00:22:04) and Shu-Airis Humaira Shu-Hazri (00:23:01).
Harith intends to build on this performance by refining his technical consistency and challenging himself in future competitions.
