WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue alumna and All-American Jinq En Phee has officially earned her second bid to the Olympic Games, providing the Southeast Asian Games champion an opportunity to represent Malaysia in the breaststroke events.
Phee is a seven-time medalist at the SEA Games and her winning time of 1:08.50 in the 100-meter breast in December 2019 remained an Olympic Selection Time (B Cut). As Malaysia's top-ranked female swimmer in the FINA points system, her Olympic bid became official via the universality system. It allows nations to qualify at least one male swimmer and one female swimmer for the Olympics.
Meanwhile, Phee will also have an opportunity to race in the 200-meter breast in Tokyo. Universality qualifiers must have at least a B Cut in their top event to be able to race in a second event.
Phee is the ninth Boilermaker to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, establishing a program record while eclipsing the benchmark of eight set five years ago in Rio de Janeiro. However, Phee joins track & field alumna Kara (Patterson) Winger as the only repeat Olympians this year. Winger earned her fourth bid in the javelin for the USA.
Phee is part of even more select company at the pool, joining Gyongyver Lakos (1996 & 2000 for Hungary) and Javier Diaz (2000 & 2004 for Mexico) as the only Purdue swimmers to be multi-year Olympic qualifiers. Nikola Aćin (4x100 free relay for Serbia), Tyler Downs (3-meter diving for USA) and Brandon Loschiavo (10-meter diving for USA) are the other members of Purdue swimming & diving to qualify this year. The four qualifiers is the Boilermakers' most from the pool at any Olympic Games.
Like Downs this year, Phee first qualified for the Olympics as a teenager the summer before she enrolled at Purdue. As a member of the Malaysian National Team since 2014, her national record in the 100 breast (1:08.65) earned her the 2016 Olympic bid in Rio de Janeiro. She also represented Malaysia in the breaststroke events at the 2015 and 2019 FINA World Championships. Until the COVID-19 postponement of the Olympics, a swimmer had to have competed at the most recent World Championships to be eligible for a universality bid. FINA suspended that rule after the postponement, but it was a moot point in Phee's case.
At Purdue, Phee became only the second Boilermaker to eclipse one minute in the 100-yard breaststroke, accomplishing the feat four times. Her career-best time of 59.32 helped her earn All-America accolades as a championship finalist in the event at the 2018 NCAA Championships. She also helped Purdue set multiple records in the medley relays. The two-time NCAA Championships qualifier was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and CSCAA Scholar All-American, graduating in May 2020 with a degree in management. She remained in West Lafayette and continued to train at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center after the Olympic postponement, returning to Malaysia in June 2021.
Phee won gold in the 100-meter breast at the SEA Games in 2015, 2017 and 2019. Including a gold in the 50-meter breast, she also won two more medals in 2019 and silver in the 50 breast in 2015 and 2017. She's believed to be the only swimmer this century to win gold in three consecutive SEA Games in the same breaststroke event. During her international career, she's also raced at the biennial Asian Games and FINA Swimming World Cup as well as the FINA World Championships.
PURDUE SWIM-DIVE AT THE TOKYO OLYMPICS
First Scheduled Event with Day/Time Converted to Eastern Time
• Jinq En Phee, 100m Breast Prelims – Sunday, July 25 at 7 a.m.
• Nikola Aćin, 4x100 Free Relay Prelims – Sunday, July 25 at 8:10 a.m.
• Tyler Downs, 3-Meter Prelims – Monday, Aug. 2 at 2 a.m.
• Brandon Loschiavo, 10-Meter Prelims – Friday, Aug. 6 at 2 a.m.
Phee is a seven-time medalist at the SEA Games and her winning time of 1:08.50 in the 100-meter breast in December 2019 remained an Olympic Selection Time (B Cut). As Malaysia's top-ranked female swimmer in the FINA points system, her Olympic bid became official via the universality system. It allows nations to qualify at least one male swimmer and one female swimmer for the Olympics.
Meanwhile, Phee will also have an opportunity to race in the 200-meter breast in Tokyo. Universality qualifiers must have at least a B Cut in their top event to be able to race in a second event.
Phee is the ninth Boilermaker to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, establishing a program record while eclipsing the benchmark of eight set five years ago in Rio de Janeiro. However, Phee joins track & field alumna Kara (Patterson) Winger as the only repeat Olympians this year. Winger earned her fourth bid in the javelin for the USA.
Phee is part of even more select company at the pool, joining Gyongyver Lakos (1996 & 2000 for Hungary) and Javier Diaz (2000 & 2004 for Mexico) as the only Purdue swimmers to be multi-year Olympic qualifiers. Nikola Aćin (4x100 free relay for Serbia), Tyler Downs (3-meter diving for USA) and Brandon Loschiavo (10-meter diving for USA) are the other members of Purdue swimming & diving to qualify this year. The four qualifiers is the Boilermakers' most from the pool at any Olympic Games.
Like Downs this year, Phee first qualified for the Olympics as a teenager the summer before she enrolled at Purdue. As a member of the Malaysian National Team since 2014, her national record in the 100 breast (1:08.65) earned her the 2016 Olympic bid in Rio de Janeiro. She also represented Malaysia in the breaststroke events at the 2015 and 2019 FINA World Championships. Until the COVID-19 postponement of the Olympics, a swimmer had to have competed at the most recent World Championships to be eligible for a universality bid. FINA suspended that rule after the postponement, but it was a moot point in Phee's case.
At Purdue, Phee became only the second Boilermaker to eclipse one minute in the 100-yard breaststroke, accomplishing the feat four times. Her career-best time of 59.32 helped her earn All-America accolades as a championship finalist in the event at the 2018 NCAA Championships. She also helped Purdue set multiple records in the medley relays. The two-time NCAA Championships qualifier was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and CSCAA Scholar All-American, graduating in May 2020 with a degree in management. She remained in West Lafayette and continued to train at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center after the Olympic postponement, returning to Malaysia in June 2021.
Phee won gold in the 100-meter breast at the SEA Games in 2015, 2017 and 2019. Including a gold in the 50-meter breast, she also won two more medals in 2019 and silver in the 50 breast in 2015 and 2017. She's believed to be the only swimmer this century to win gold in three consecutive SEA Games in the same breaststroke event. During her international career, she's also raced at the biennial Asian Games and FINA Swimming World Cup as well as the FINA World Championships.
PURDUE SWIM-DIVE AT THE TOKYO OLYMPICS
First Scheduled Event with Day/Time Converted to Eastern Time
• Jinq En Phee, 100m Breast Prelims – Sunday, July 25 at 7 a.m.
• Nikola Aćin, 4x100 Free Relay Prelims – Sunday, July 25 at 8:10 a.m.
• Tyler Downs, 3-Meter Prelims – Monday, Aug. 2 at 2 a.m.
• Brandon Loschiavo, 10-Meter Prelims – Friday, Aug. 6 at 2 a.m.