Festival and tourism events in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Seventy-six-year-old Motoko Arakawa is not ordinary granny.

At a glance, she may just be another elderly woman who prefers staying at home and leading a quiet life gardening and spending time with her grandchildren. But, in her case, looks can be deceiving.

What she achieved in a two-day first ever 15km Borneo Rainforest Ocean Swim tour here yesterday should give other women her age a fresh heart.

Motoko, from Tokyo, was the oldest participant among 18 Japanese enthusiasts who completed the energy-sapping swim tour.

She has proven that age is no obstacle to living life to the fullest.

The participants set out for a 7km swim from Tanjung Aru to Mamutik Island and then to Manukan Island where they stayed overnight on Friday.

And yesterday, on their return tour, they swam from Mamutik Island-Manukan Island-Sulug Island to Tanjung Aru covering a distance of 7.9km

"It felt very good", said Motoko when approached shortly after arriving at the ending point in front of the Kinabalu Yacht Club.

She was earlier seen jumping with joy among her teammates upon finishing the race.

"I enjoyed (the swim) throughout the journey and thankfully, there were no big waves. All went smoothly...(I'm) not that tired because I'm used to swimming", added the housewife who spoke through a translator.

Apart from her age, Motoko's effort was all the more remarkable as she has also raised her personal best many folds.

The grandmother's previous long-distance swimming covered only 1.5km

"This is my farthest swim so far, it is very satisfactory...the environment throughout the journey is so beautiful", she said.

The grandmother of two disclosed that this was her second visit to Malaysia and the first to Sabah.

"Sabah is indeed beautiful and I intend to come again next time", added Motoko.

The two-day event was held by a local tour operator, Exotic Adventure, and Haruyuki Nonoyama, an Event Organiser from Japan.

"They may be old but they are very good swimmers", he said referring to the group.

According to Nonoyama, he came up with the idea of having the Ocean Swim Tour as he was fascinated what Sabah can offer for outdoor sports through his participation in the Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon.

"My recce team did a study on the event when I took part in the Climbathon last year, after much thought, we believe that the State is suitable for the Ocean Swim Tour".

"We will certainly come back maybe in the next two years but with bigger International participants, including locals".

"Hopefully we will get the support of the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) and other relevant authorities", he said.

After seeing the success of the event yesterday, Nonoyama was now aiming for something big - ocean swim race.

"This year the event is known as Borneo Rainforest Ocean Swim Tour but next time, hopefully, it will be called Borneo Rainforest Ocean Swim Race.

"Sabah has big potential in ocean swim race", added Nonoyama who was also part of the group that completed the ocean swim tour.