Tania Bugo’s star shone brightest in 1990 when she won an incredible 13 gold medals at the Malaysia Games (Sukma).
She was 14, and a year later, she sat for her SRP examinations, and turned her back on competitive swimming.
Since then, she has mostly shunned the limelight, although she gives motivational talks to Sarawak’s swimming teams, from time to time.
Asked why she turned her back on swimming at such a tender age, Tania said it was a difficult decision, but something she never regretted.
“Honestly, winning 13 gold medals at Sukma, while unprecedented, was no big deal,” she said.
“It is not the SEA Games or Asian Games, and although I won, I still felt I was not good enough.
“What worked in my favour was that the swimmers who competed in the SEA Games the year before were not allowed to compete. That helped, but I still had to give my all to win every medal.”
Tania turned down the opportunity to compete in the 1989 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games, as she felt she was too young. But having had a taste of what it took to be a national swimmer helped her prepare for the 1990 Sukma in her hometown of Kuching, Sarawak.
“However, the amount of training I had to endure eventually broke me,” confessed Tania.
“It is not easy to prepare for 13 events… and it’s not something anyone would do today.
“We didn’t know much about sports science back then. I was pushing myself hard every day. I hardly had any time to myself.”
She said she spent up to nine hours in the pool each day, and another six hours in school on weekdays.
“There was no rest. There were times that I would just sit down and tears would flow down my cheeks, out of sheer exhaustion,” said Tania, the second child of former Sarawak State Secretary, Tan Sri Hamid Bugo.
“When I decided to quit after my examinations, some officials came to see my family to convince me to change my mind.
“However, not one of them asked me how I felt, or why I decided to quit. They were looking at the medals they ‘lost’. That was very frustrating.”
She added that she was lucky to have the backing of her parents, who never interfered, or tried to get her to return to the pool.
“My parents were supportive of my swimming. My mum used to drive me to training at 4am every day. Yet, they didn’t pressure me to stay on to compete,” said Tania, who ran a kindergarten for 19 years after finishing her studies.
Now 48, Tania leads a peaceful life with her husband, Nicholas Law, and their two daughters in Sematan, a small town in the Lundu district of Sarawak.
Last weekend, Tania made a rare foray back into swimming, as one of the three observers for writer Ridzwan Rahim’s historic swim from Pulau Redang to Pulau Lang Tengah in Terengganu.
“I have never been an observer for a marathon swim before, and jumped at the chance to help Ridzwan in his challenge,” said Tania.
“I’m glad that he managed to complete his swim. I know the feeling of elation when you achieve your goal.
“Although I don’t compete anymore, it gives me joy to be part of this event.”
