Felix, Newly Discovered Pearl in Indonesian Swimming
Training abroad under direct coaching of his German father, Felix Viktor Iberle has become Indonesia’s newly discovered pearl in the pool.
By
SYAHNAN RANGKUTI
·4 minutes read
HUMAS PB PRSI
Felix Victor Iberle (center) and Muhammad Dwiky Raharjo (right) with PB PRSI Chair Anindya Bakrie (below) after winning the gold and bronze medals in the men's 50 meter breaststroke swimming at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday (11/5/2023).
PHNOM PENH, KOMPAS — The Cambodian SEA Games 2023 turned into a coronation stage for Felix Viktor Iberle (18) for his unchallenged swimming prowess to earn gold for Indonesia in the 50-meter breaststroke with a fantastic record time. Training abroad under direct coaching of his German father, he has become Indonesia’s newly discovered pearl in the pool.
The Aquatic Arena at the Morodok Techo Sports Complex, Phnom Penh, rumbled with applause as Felix touched the finish board first in the men's 50-meter breaststroke category with a time of 27.70 seconds, on Thursday evening (11/5/2023). He beat Nicholas Rui K Mahabir (Singapore), who finished in second place with 27.91 seconds, followed by fellow Indonesian M Dwiky Raharjo with 28.01 seconds.
Being cheered by the audience, Felix’s facial expression was plain. He did not beam. He only glanced at the scoreboard and took the handshake of congratulations from the swimmer next to him. Neither did he flaunt a smile during the medal presentation.
Felix did not seem to be satisfied with his race time, which appeared to be below his record-breaking time of 27.56 seconds, which he had made during the qualifying session in the morning. It broke both the national record of 27.60 seconds under his name and the SEA Games record of 28.15 seconds set by Chien Yin Lionel of Singapore at the Games in the Philippines in 2019.
“I managed 27.60 seconds [before] scoring my best this morning," Felix said after the medal presentation.
In Malaysia, we focused more on speed training.
The household training program proves to have catapulted him. His father, Frank Christian Iberle, once stayed in Bali for work. When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, he got a new job in Malaysia, where Felix joined him to continue training there.
Frank said his son had initially faced difficulty adapting to the tropical climate in Malaysia. “In Malaysia, we focused more on speed training,” he said, adding that it was more challenging to swim in a tropical climate because it called for well-shaped endurance.
HUMAS PB PRSI
Felix Victor Iberle (second from right) and Muhammad Dwiky Raharjo with General Chair of PB PRSI Anindya Bakrie (right) and Indonesian swimming team manager Wisnu Wardhana after winning gold and bronze medals in men's 50 meter breaststroke swimming at the 2023 SEA Games Cambodia in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday (11/5/2023).
Felix carried out his daily practice in a public swimming pool, along with other swimmers. The pool only measured 25 meters instead of 50, which Frank said made it too short and crowded for Felix to train optimally.
Despite the limited swimming facility, Felix was forged by his father under a tight training regime. Their arduous work paid off with Felix racing to a new national and Southeast Asian record with 27.60 seconds at the Malaysia Open in March.
Frank sent text messages about his son’s double record-breaking performance to the Indonesian Swimming Association’s (PRSI) Bali office. The PRSI welcomed Felix's intention to compete for Indonesia overseas. He was included in the national delegation for the SEA Games, currently underway in Cambodia. At the biennial Southeast Asian multisport event, Felix has proven his worth.
At such a young age, Felix has the potential to develop further under a well-worked coaching program. He is among those planned for the next national training camp in preparation for the Asian Games. Asked about his goals at the next continental multisport event, Felix said he did not have a specific target. "Just eager to keep practicing and be better than this," he said
National team coach Albert C Sutanto applauded Felix’s swimming talent with a time record close to that of world peers. He expressed his confidence that the athlete would be able to develop further provided that he trained under serious and intensive supervision.
“We can [be competitive]. The government must give more support, especially to sports [such as swimming], which provides lots of medals [in competition]. We hope the government can see this as something of priority,” he said.
