Wan Azlan bin Wan Ali Abdullah (professionally known as Wan Azlan Abdullah; born 5 June 1975) is a retired Malaysian swimmer, who specialised in freestyle and in individual medley events. He is a two-time Olympian (1996 and 2000), and a gold medalist at the

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...

(1997). While studying in the United States, Abdullah trained for the Pine Crest Swim Club in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

under his full-time coach

David López-Zubero David López-Zubero Purcell (born 11 February 1959), also known as David Zubero, is a former competition swimmer who represented Spain at three Summer Olympics and won an Olympic bronze medal in 1980. Zubero was born in the United States, swam ...

, a bronze medalist for Spain at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

. During his college career, Abdullah swam for the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

Georgia Bulldogs swimming and diving The Georgia Bulldogs swimming and diving team represents the University of Georgia (UGA) in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA men's and women's swimming (sport), swimming and Diving (sport), diving. Also known as the "Swim Dawgs," t ...

team under head coach

Jack Bauerle Jack Bauerle (born February 7, 1952) is the former head coach of the University of Georgia (UGA) men's and women's swimming teams. At the end of his coaching career, Bauerle finished his 42nd year as a head coach for the UGA women's team and his ...

. Abdullah made his first Malaysian team at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in Atlanta. There, he failed to reach the top 16 final in any of his individual events, finishing thirty-sixth in the 200 m individual medley (2:12.11), and twenty-seventh in the 400 m individual medley (4:38.95, a slowest prelims time). He also placed twentieth, along with his Malaysian teammates

Alex Lim Lim Keng Liat (born 29 August 1980) is a retired Malaysian swimmer. He was born in Sandakan, Sabah. He was awarded the National Sportsman of the Year and Olympian of the Year in 1998. In 2009, he was inducted into the Olympic Council of Malaysi ...

Elvin Chia Elvin Chia Tshun Thau (born 26 April 1977) is a retired Malaysian swimmer. He was born in Sandakan, Sabah. He was the Malaysian Olympian of the Year in 1999. He also competed at the Summer Olympic Games: 1996 and 2000 File:2000 Events Collage ...

, and Anthony Ang, in the 4×100 m medley relay (3:56.24). The following year, at the

1997 Southeast Asian Games The 1997 Southeast Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia Tenggara 1997), officially known as the 19th Southeast Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia Tenggara ke-19; the 19th SEA Games), was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Jakarta, ...

in Jakarta, Indonesia, Abdullah won two gold medals each in the 200 m individual medley (2:07.80), and in the 400 m individual medley (4:32.75). Abdullah swam only in the men's 400 m individual medley at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

in Sydney. He achieved a

FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

B-cut of 4:34.50 from the Asian Swimming Championships in

Busan, South Korea Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

. He challenged seven other swimmers in heat two, including 1996 Olympic silver medalist

Jani Sievinen Jani Nikanor Sievinen (; born 31 March 1974) is a former medley swimmer from Finland, who won the silver medal in the 200 m individual medley at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In winning the World Championship 200m individ ...

of Finland, and 16-year-old

George Bovell George Richard Lycott Bovell (born 18 July 1983) is an Olympic bronze medalist swimmer and former world record holder from Trinidad and Tobago. Bovell is also a two-time World Championship bronze medalist. Olympic career George Bovell represen ...

of Trinidad and Tobago. Abdullah posted a time of 4:36.90 to save a seventh spot over Croatia's

Sandro Tomaš Sandro Šanta Tomaš (born October 9, 1972 in Zagreb) is a former philosopher medley swimmer from Croatia, who competed for his native country at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. There he ended up in 42nd place in the men's 400 ...

by a 1.4-second advantage. Abdullah failed to reach the top 8 final, as he placed forty-first overall in the prelims.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wan Azlan 1975 births Living people Malaysian male swimmers Malaysian people of Malay descent Olympic swimmers of Malaysia Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games competitors for Malaysia Swimmers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Malaysian male freestyle swimmers Male medley swimmers Georgia Bulldogs men's swimmers Southeast Asian Games medalists in swimming Southeast Asian Games gold medalists for Malaysia Southeast Asian Games bronze medalists for Malaysia Competitors at the 1995 Southeast Asian Games Competitors at the 1997 Southeast Asian Games