| Wan Azlan | |
| Birth Name: | Wan Azlan bin Wan Ali Abdullah |
| Strokes: | Freestyle, medley |
| Club: | Pine Crest Swim Club (U.S.) |
| Coach: | David López-Zubero (U.S.) |
| Collegeteam: | University of Georgia (U.S.) |
| Birth Date: | 5 June 1975 |
| Weight: | 770NaN0 |
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.[1] He is a two-time Olympian (1996 and 2000), and a gold medalist at the Southeast Asian Games (1997). While studying in the United States, Abdullah trained for the Pine Crest Swim Club in Fort Lauderdale, Florida under his full-time coach David López-Zubero, a bronze medalist for Spain at the 1980 Summer Olympics.[2] During his college career, Abdullah swam for the University of Georgia's Georgia Bulldogs swimming and diving team under head coach Jack Bauerle.[3]
Abdullah made his first Malaysian team at the 1996 Summer Olympics 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).[4] [5] He also placed twentieth, along with his Malaysian teammates Alex Lim, Elvin Chia, and Anthony Ang, in the 4×100 m medley relay (3:56.24).[6]
The following year, at the 1997 Southeast Asian Games 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).[7] [8]
Abdullah swam only in the men's 400 m individual medley at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He achieved a FINA B-cut of 4:34.50 from the Asian Swimming Championships in Busan, South Korea.[9] He challenged seven other swimmers in heat two, including 1996 Olympic silver medalist Jani Sievinen of Finland, and 16-year-old George Bovell of Trinidad and Tobago. Abdullah posted a time of 4:36.90 to save a seventh spot over Croatia's Sandro Tomaš by a 1.4-second advantage. Abdullah failed to reach the top 8 final, as he placed forty-first overall in the prelims.[10] [11] [12]