Dato Pandelela Rinong Pamg, (born 2 March 1993) is a Malaysian diver. She has won two

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

medals and seven

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

medals. Pandelela represented Malaysia at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

where she finished 27th in 10m platform. She won the gold medal at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

. She was chosen to be the flagbearer of Malaysia at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. She went on to win the bronze medal in the 10m platform, becoming the first Malaysian female athlete to win an

Olympic medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid o ...

, as well as the first in any sport other than badminton. At the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, she won the silver medal in the 10m synchronized platform with Cheong Jun Hoong.

Early and personal life

Pandelela was born in (Kampung) Kupuo Jugan, a Bidayuh village in Bau, Sarawak to Hartini Lamim and Pamg Joheng. She is of

Bidayuh Bidayuh is the collective name for several indigenous groups found in southern Sarawak, Malaysia and northern West Kalimantan, Indonesia, on the island of Borneo, which are broadly similar in language and culture (see also #Language issues, is ...

ethnicity, a

Bumiputera Bumiputera or Bumiputra, which is a Malay word, comes from the Sanskrit word ''Bhumiputra'' which may be transliterated as "son of earth" or "son of the soil" (Bhūmi; भूमि = earth; putra = son). It has different definitions in Brunei and M ...

native to the Malaysian state of

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

. She is the second of four siblings. At the age of seven she was selected as a state diver and continued her training at the

Bukit Jalil Sports School The Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) ( ms, Sekolah Sukan Bukit Jalil, SSBJ) is the first sports school in Malaysia. The school is located at the National Sports Complex compound in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. Sekolah Sukan Bukit Jalil was opene ...

. She graduated from

University of Malaya The University of Malaya ( ms, Universiti Malaya, UM; abbreviated as UM or informally the Malayan University) is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian institution of highe ...

in 2018, majoring in Sports Management Science. Pandelela speaks

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

as well as her

mother tongue,

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Career

Pandelela made her international competition debut in 2007 at the Asian Junior Aquatics Championships where she won four gold medals. At the

2007 Southeast Asian Games The 2007 Southeast Asian Games ( th, กีฬาแห่งเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้ 2007, Kila haeng echiye tawan oak chiyeng tai 2007), officially known as the 24th Southeast Asian Games, was a South ...

in Thailand, she won the gold medal in 10m synchronized platform with Cheong Jun Hoong. Pandelela made her Olympic debut at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

as a 15-year-old. She finished 27th in the 10 m platform. At the

2009 World Aquatics Championships The 2009 World Aquatics Championships ( it, Campionati mondiali di nuoto 2009) or the XIII FINA World Championships were held in Rome, Italy from 18 July to 2 August 2009. The 2009 Championships featured competition in all 5 aquatics disciplines ...

, she finished fifth in the 10 m platform. She went on to win the bronze medal in the 10 m synchronized platform with

Leong Mun Yee Datuk Leong Mun Yee (, born 4 December 1984) is a retired Malaysian diver. She competed at the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics with the best result of seventh place in the 10 m synchronised platform event in 2012. Her appearance at the 2 ...

where it was also the first-ever diving medal for Malaysia at the World Championships. Pandelela won two gold medal at the 2009 Southeast Asian Games in Vientiane. She was the Malaysian national

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

the

2010 Summer Youth Olympics The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics ( ta, 2010 கோடைக்கால இளையோர் ஒலிம்பிக் விளையாட்டுக்கள் ms, Sukan Olimpik Belia Musim Panas 2010), officially known as the I Summer ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

where she won the silver medals in the 10 m platform event and 3 m springboard event. At the

in New Delhi, she won Malaysia's debut

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

gold medal in an aquatic sport by winning the 10 m platform event. At the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...

in Guangzhou, she won the bronze medal in 10 m platform and the silver medal in 10m synchronized platform with Leong Mun Yee. Pandelela was Team Malaysia national

2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 27 July 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London, during which the Games were formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the pr ...

, the debut Malaysian Olympic female athlete to be accorded the honour. She competed in the individual 10 m platform, 3m synchronized springboard with Cheong Jun Hoong and the 10 m synchronised platform event with Leong Mun Yee. She became the first

Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...

female athlete to win an Olympics medal, and the first Malaysian athlete to win an Olympics medal in a sport besides badminton by winning a bronze medal in the 10 m platform at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. To commemorate her success, she was presented with the Johan Bintang Kenyalang (Companion of the Order of the Star of Hornbill) by the Sarawak State Government, in a special investiture ceremony held at the Astana shortly after her triumphant return to her homeland. She became Sarawak's first athlete to be accorded with the award. At the

2013 World Aquatics Championships The 15th FINA World Championships ( ca, Campionat Mundial de Natació de 2013, es, Campeonato Mundial de Natación de 2013) were held from 20 July to 4 August in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.2013 Southeast Asian Games in Naypyidaw, she retained her gold medal in 10m platform event. Pandelela competed at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

in Glasgow. Despite a knee injury, she won the bronze medal in 10m synchronized platform with

Nur Dhabitah Sabri Nur Dhabitah binti Sabri (born 12 July 1999) is a Malaysian diver. She is the youngest Malaysian diver to champion two senior international competitions. Early and personal life Dhabitah was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Sabri Hashim a ...

. She also bagged a silver in the 10m platform with a score of 368.55 points. At the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games ( ko, 2014년 아시아 경기대회/2014년 아시안 게임, Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 17th Asian Games ( ko, 제17회 아시아 경기대회/제17회 ...

in Incheon, she won the bronze medal in 10 m synchro platform with Leong Mun Yee. In July 2015, Pandelela made history when she became the first Malaysian to finish on the podium in an individual event at the

World Aquatics Championships The FINA World Championships or World Aquatics Championships are the World Championships for aquatics sports: swimming, diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water polo. They are run by FINA, and all swimming events ...

. She clinched a bronze medal in the individual 10 m platform in Kazan and qualify for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in Brazil. At the

in Rio de Janeiro, she won the silver medal in the 10 m synchronized platform with Cheong Jun Hoong, becoming the first Malaysian women's team to win a silver medal at the Olympics. In honour of her achievement at the

, The Sarawak Aquatic Centre in

Petra Jaya Petra Jaya is a suburb of Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. This suburb was named after sixth Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Yahya Petra of Kelantan (1975-1979). History The suburb was founded in the 1970s by Sarawak chief minister at that time named ...

was officially named Pandelela Rinong Aquatic Centre. After

, Pandelela took a break to recuperate from back and shoulder injuries. At the

2017 World Aquatics Championships The 17th FINA World Championships ( hu, 2017-es úszó-világbajnokság) were held in Budapest, Hungary from 14 to 30 July 2017.

in Budapest, she won the bronze medal in 10 m synchronized platform with Cheong Jun Hoong. She finished ninth in the individual 10m platform which was won by her partner, Jun Hoong. At the

2017 Southeast Asian Games Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanes ...

in Kuala Lumpur, she won the gold medal in newly introduced team event with Gabriel Gilbert Daim. She also retained her gold medal in the individual 10m platform event. At the 2021 FINA Diving World Cup in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, she won the gold medal in the individual 10 m platform. She placed fourth in the synchronized 10 m platform together with

. At the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

, Pandelela and diving partner Leong Mun Yee finished eighth in the women's 10m synchronized platform.

Awards

* SAM-100PLUS Best Athlete: 2010, 2012, 2015 * National Sportswoman of the Year: 2011, 2012, 2015 * Sarawak Sportswoman of the Year: 2010, 2011–12 * NPC-Tan Sri SM Nasimuddin SM Amin 1Malaysian of the Year: 2012 * TM Fans Pick Awards – Glorious Moment: 2015 * Sarawak Sports Youth Icon * UM Sportswoman of the Year: 2016 * UM Special Badge of University Sports

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : ** Member of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace o ...

(AMN) (2016) * : ** Companion of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak (JBK) (2016) ** Commander of the

Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak The ''Darjah Utama Yang Amat Mulia Bintang Sarawak'' (Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak) is the highest state order in the state of Sarawak. It is conferred to those who rendered excellent service towards the development of the state of S ...

(PSBS) – Dato (2021)

Controversy

In June 2018, Pandelela and six other divers were caught in controversy after a video showed them partying and drinking alcohol during a training camp in

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The video was allegedly recorded on the eve of

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...

day. Following the incident, the Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (ASUM) suspended the allowances of the seven national divers with immediate effect with more disciplinary action set to follow. Pandelela and the six other divers apologised publicly and promised the incident will not be repeated. ASUM announced later that no further action will be taken to the seven divers as the divers have already expressed remorse for their actions.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rinong, Pandelela 1993 births Living people People from Sarawak Bidayuh people Malaysian female divers Olympic divers of Malaysia Olympic medalists in diving Olympic silver medalists for Malaysia Olympic bronze medalists for Malaysia Divers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Divers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Divers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Divers at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics Asian Games medalists in diving Divers at the 2010 Asian Games Divers at the 2014 Asian Games Divers at the 2018 Asian Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Malaysia Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Malaysia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Malaysia Divers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Divers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Divers at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Members of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Companions of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak World Aquatics Championships medalists in diving Asian Games silver medalists for Malaysia Asian Games bronze medalists for Malaysia Commonwealth Games medallists in diving Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Universiade medalists in diving Southeast Asian Games gold medalists for Malaysia Southeast Asian Games silver medalists for Malaysia Southeast Asian Games medalists in diving Competitors at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games Competitors at the 2009 Southeast Asian Games Competitors at the 2011 Southeast Asian Games Competitors at the 2013 Southeast Asian Games Competitors at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games Competitors at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games Universiade silver medalists for Malaysia Universiade bronze medalists for Malaysia Medalists at the 2011 Summer Universiade Divers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Competitors at the 2021 Southeast Asian Games Divers at the 2022 Commonwealth Games 21st-century Malaysian women