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Heidi GAN
Sport Open Water Swimming
NOC Malaysia   
GenderWomen
Born08 Oct 1988 in Adelaide, AUS
Height1.63 m
 Human Interest 
Further Personal Information
Residence
Perth, WA, AUS
General Interest
Famous relatives
Her cousin Dr Lennard Lee swam the English Channel in 2004. (thestar.com.my, 31 May 2012)
Further Personal Information
Occupation
Lawyer
General Interest
Other information
RETIREMENT
She announced her retirement from competitive swimming in June 2019. "Swimming has been my life for the last 25 years and I wouldn't have had the opportunities to achieve as much as I did in my career without the unconditional support of my coach Matt Magee and all the other coaches I've had in the past, my family, my club Perth City Swimming Club, and of course my friends, mentors and supporters." (LinkedIn profile, 13 Jun 2019; stadiumastro.com, 13 Jun 2019; Instagram profile, 12 Jun 2019)

REPRESENTING MALAYSIA
Born in Australia to Malaysian parents, she had the choice to compete for both nations before opting to swim for her parents' country of birth. "When I was about 15, Malaysia spotted me in Australia. They asked if I wanted to swim with them at that time. I said yes so I could get some good race experience and travel. I got chances that I might not have had if I had been on the Australian team." (news.yahoo.com, 11 Dec 2014; uwa.edu.au, 11 Oct 2013)

FURTHER EDUCATION
She has studied for a graduate diploma in legal practice at the College of Law in Sydney, NSW, Australia. (LinkedIn profile, 2018)
Further Personal Information
Higher education
Commerce, Law - University of Western Australia: Perth, WA, AUS
General Interest
Hobbies
Baking, shopping, socialising with friends, walking her dogs. (elle.my, 16 Aug 2016; heidigan.com, 13 Jun 2015)
Memorable sporting achievement
Representing Malaysia at the Olympic Games in 2012 and 2016, and winning a gold medal in the 10km at the 2017 South East Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (elle.my, 16 Aug 2016; purelyb.com, 20 Sep 2017; Facebook page, 26 May 2018)
Sport Specific Information
Why this sport?
"I got into open water swimming because I joined a surf life saving club during my early days of university, and this involved a lot of ocean swimming. I had the opportunity to do a few open water swimming races and since I already had some experience, I gave it a go and really enjoyed it."
When and where did you begin this sport?
She first tried swimming at age five. She began concentrating on open water swimming in 2010 when she attended university.
Further Personal Information
Languages
English
General Interest
Injuries
She suffered a shoulder injury in early 2016. (elle.my, 16 Aug 2016)

She has suffered a tear in her hip and rolled ankles during her career. (elle.my, 16 Aug 2016)
Other sports
She has also represented Malaysia in swimming, and competed in freestyle relays at the South East Asian Games in 2007, 2009 and 2017. (SportsDeskOnline, 04 Jun 2018)
Sporting philosophy / motto
"Try your best in whatever you do. Don't make excuses, be accountable for your actions, make no compromises in your pursuit for excellence and enjoy every minute." (purelyb.com, 20 Sep 2017)
Most influential person in career
Her parents. (news.uwa.edu.au, 08 Mar 2018)
Milestones
In 2012 she became the first swimmer to represent Malaysia in open water swimming at the Olympic Games. (uwa.edu.au, 28 Feb 2018; SportsDeskOnline, 04 Jun 2018)

 Competition Highlights
World Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
21 2015 Kazan, RUS 5km 1:00:52.1
33 2015 Kazan, RUS 10km 2:00:34.4
29 2013 Barcelona, ESP 10km 1:59:01.4
World Cup
Rank Year Venue Event Result
59 2017   10km  
30 2017 Abu Dhabi, UAE 10km 1:55:57.1
20 2016 Abu Dhabi, UAE 10km 1:59:08.90
15 2015 Hong Kong, CHN 10km 2:06:52.30
3 2015 Nouméa, NCL 10km 2:12:34.10
36 2015 San Miguel de Cozumel, MEX 10km 1:53:42.00
  2014 Setúbal, POR 10km  DNF
17 2013 Hong Kong, CHN 10km 2:03:31.6
Asian Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
3 2017 Putrajaya, MAS 5km 1:05:03.5
1 2017 Putrajaya, MAS 10km 2:17:00.7