Richard Sam Bera (born 19 December 1971) is a former Indonesian swimmer, who specialized in sprint and middle-distance freestyle events. He is a three-time Olympian (1988, 1996, and 2000), a bronze medalist at the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

(1990), and a twenty-three times SEA Games gold-medalist (individuals and relays) since his debut in 1987. He is regarded as Indonesia's most successful swimmer in the sporting history. Up until 2015, Bera held several Indonesian and Southeast Asian Games records in sprint freestyle events from the

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as SEA Games is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with sup ...

Career

Early years

Bera made his official debut, as Indonesia's youngest swimmer (aged 16), at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. He failed to reach the top 16 final in any of his individual events, finishing forty-first in the newly introduced 50 m freestyle (24.67), forty-seventh in the 100 m freestyle (53.59), forty-eighth in the 200 m freestyle (1:57.60), forty-third in the 400 m freestyle (4:08.70), and thirty-seventh in the 200 m individual medley (2:13.90). Bera's name reached towards an early sport popularity when, as a 17-year-old, he earned his first-ever gold medal in the 100 m freestyle (52.19) and bronze in the newly introduced 50 m freestyle at the

1989 Southeast Asian Games The 1989 Southeast Asian Games (), officially known as the 15th Southeast Asian Games, were a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 20 to 31 August 1989 with 25 sports featured in the games. It was officially opened by 9th Yang ...

in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia beating the then current champion of the distance, the great Ang Peng Siong of Singapore. One year later, at the

1990 Asian Games ) , nations = 31 , athletes = 6,122 , events = 308 in 27 sports , opening = 22 September 1990 , closing = 7 October 1990 , opened_by = Yang Shangkun , closed_by = Roy de Silva , athlete_oath = Chen L ...

in Beijing, China, Bera won a bronze medal in the 100 m freestyle at 51.79, trailing China's

Xie Jun Xie Jun (born October 30, 1970) is a Chinese chess grandmaster and is the first Asian woman to become a chess grandmaster. She had two separate reigns as Women's World Chess Champion, from 1991 to 1996 and again from 1999 to 2001. Xie is one ...

by almost a full second.

College career

His college swimming career started off in Northern California when he attended

Foothill College Foothill College is a public community college in Los Altos Hills, California. It is part of the Foothill–De Anza Community College District. It was founded on January 15, 1957, and offers 84 Associate degree programs, 2 Bachelor's degree p ...

until 1993. Bera was California Community College Champion in 50, 100, and 200 yd freestyle for two years. And in 1993, he set a new California and US National Junior College record in 100 yd freestyle with the time of 44.73. After his successful campaign in California, Bera accepted an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...

to attend the

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

Tempe, Arizona Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...

, where he swam for the

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the sport, athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's Varsity team, varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Divisi ...

swimming and diving team under head coach Ernest Maglischo first and then Michael Chasson. While swimming for the Sun Devils, he received four

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in the 100-yard freestyle, and all freestyle relays (200, 400, and 800). Bera was a regular finalist in 100 and 200 yards freestyle at Pac-10 Championships during his NCAA Division I career. And he capped it off in his final season with automatic qualifying time in 100 yd free for 1995 NCAA Championships. He was also a member of Sun Devils' 400 yd Medley Relay team that finished top 6 that year. After his senior season, Bera turned himself into a professional swimmer and then made a strong comeback for the Indonesian swimming team. At the

1995 Southeast Asian Games The 1995 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 18th Southeast Asian Games, Chiang Mai, 1995 (), were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 9 to 17 December 1995. It was the first time that a non-capital ...

in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Bera powered past the entire swimming field to strike a sprint freestyle double (both 50 and 100 m). Up until 2017, Bera remains the only Indonesian athlete in any sports who has ever earned the

Division 1 accolade.

International comebacks

After an eight-year absence since his first Olympics in 1988 as a 16-year-old, Bera qualified for his second Indonesian team at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Although he was able to improve his standards from past tournaments, Bera still placed in a "middle-of-the-pack" in any of his individual events, finishing forty-fourth in the 50 m freestyle (23.80), and thirty-fourth in the 100 m freestyle (51.25). When his country

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

hosted the

1997 Southeast Asian Games The 1997 Southeast Asian Games (), officially known as the 19th Southeast Asian Games (; the 19th SEA Games), were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Jakarta, Indonesia. This was the third time that Indonesia hosted the games. Jakarta ...

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

, Bera was delighted and overwhelmed by the home crowd, as he edged out Filipino favourite Raymond Papa to defend his titles in both the 50 and 100 m freestyle. A feat that he repeated again at the

1999 Southeast Asian Games The 1999 SEA Games (), officially known as the 20th SEA Games and commonly known as Brunei Darussalam 1999, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. This was the first time Brunei hosted the Southeast Asian ...

Brunei Darussalam Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

and the

2001 Southeast Asian Games The 2001 Southeast Asian Games (), officially known as the 21st Southeast Asian Games, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This was the fifth time that Malaysia plays as SEA Games hosts, the country previous ...

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

. Shortly after the 1997 Games, Bera announced his retirement to concentrate on his job as an assistant coach for the

. On that same year, he graduated from the university with a Bachelor of Science degree in political science and a Bachelor of Arts in economics. But two years later, in 1999, Bera came home to Indonesia and made a decision to come out of retirement, and set up an official return to the Indonesian swimming team. At the

, he defended his 100 m freestyle title for the third straight time in a Games record-breaking time of 51.03, slashing 0.28 seconds off the mark set by his teammate Wisnu Wardhana in 1993. He also defended his 50 m freestyle crown when he swam 23.49, more than two-tenths of a second (0.20) outside his own 10-year-old record. In March 2000, Bera competed in the 6th Asian Swimming Championships in Busan, South Korea, and came away with a silver medal in 100 m freestyle with the time of 51.34, being edged out by home favorite Kim Min-suk for the Gold. At the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

in Sydney, Bera competed again in a sprint freestyle double since his remarkable comeback from Atlanta. After defending third straight titles from the SEA Games, his entry times of 23.49 (50 m freestyle) and 51.03 (100 m freestyle) were accredited under a

FINA World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (; ), is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in List of water sports, water sports. It is one of several interna ...

B-standard. In the 100 m freestyle, Bera placed thirty-seventh on the morning prelims. Swimming in heat six, he edged out Israel's Yoav Bruck to take a sixth spot by exactly a tenth of a second (0.10) in 51.52. Two days later, in the 50 m freestyle, Bera challenged seven other swimmers in heat five, including Bahamas' Allan Murray, top 16 finalist in Atlanta four years earlier. He came up short in third place and forty-second overall at 23.54, just a small fraction off his entry time. At the

in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Bera matched his own record of 51.03 to claim a 100 m freestyle title for the fourth straight time, edging out host nation's Allen Ong by 0.28 of a second. Twelve years after winning a bronze medal, Bera competed for the second time, as a strong 31-year-old veteran, at the

2002 Asian Games The 2002 Asian Games, officially known as the XIV Asian Games and also known as Busan 2002 (), were an international multi-sport event held in Busan, South Korea from September 29 to October 14, 2002. Due to schedule impediments the football tour ...

Busan, South Korea Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

. He missed the podium twice in any of his swimming events, finishing fourth in the 50 m freestyle (23.49), and fifth in the 100 m freestyle (51.41). At the 2003 Southeast Asian Games in

Hanoi, Vietnam Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

, Bera only won a bronze medal in the 50 m freestyle at 23.73, finishing behind surprising Thai teenager Arwut Chinnapasaen and his Malaysian nemesis Allen Ong by four-tenths of a second (0.40). Eighteen years since his debut, Bera made his final appearance as individual swimmer at the

2005 Southeast Asian Games The 2005 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 23rd Southeast Asian Games, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines. This was the third time the Philippines hosted the games and its first time since 1991. ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. Surprisingly, even in the age of 34, he managed to win a total of five swimming medals: two golds in the 100 m freestyle (51.94) and in the medley relay (3:51.51), two silvers each in the 50 m freestyle (23.36) and in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay (3:29.46), and a bronze in the 4 x 200 freestyle relay (7:43.56). Shortly after the Games, Bera announced his second, yet official retirement from swimming, ending a career with three Olympic appearances, and more than forty SEA Games medals to his collection. And up until

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games (), officially known as the 17th Asian Games () and also known as Incheon 2014 (), were a pan-Asian multi-sport event held from 19 September to 4 October 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. On 17 April 2007, Incheon was awarded ...

, Bera and fellow countrymen breast-stroker Wirmandi Sugriat, remain the last Indonesian swimmers who medaled at Asian Games.

Life after swimming

Since 2000, Bera has been working as a sports broadcaster for

MetroTV PT Media Televisi Indonesia, operating as Metro TV, is an Indonesian free-to-air News broadcasting, television news network based in West Jakarta. It was launched on 25 November 2000, and now has over 52 relay stations all over the country. ...

on the western outskirts of

. After that, he was placed as editor-in-chief for FHM and Men's Fitness Indonesia Magazines. Following his retirement from swimming, Bera still remained strong and faithful to his sporting regime. He became one of the founders of National Champions Millennium Aquatics Club, and later competed in both Olympic and sprint-distance triathlons across Indonesia, specifically in

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

. Bera was unofficially crowned as the father of modern triathlon in Indonesia, when he started to spread the "triathlon virus" in 2009. He was training to keep himself healthy by doing cycling and running along with swimming. At the time, barely anyone in Indonesia was aware of the sport of triathlon. Bera also attended both as a spectator and as an observer at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London. Watching the athlete procession from the stands during the

closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

, he reminisced an Olympic moment from his Twitter: "Seeing all those athletes down there, a bit emotional for me. I used to be down there". In 2015, Bera elected President of Indonesia Olympians Association and served until 2018. From 2015 to 2017, he was also part of the Board of Commissioner of Ministry of Youth and Sports' High-Performance Program called PRIMA. And then in May 2018, Bera was appointed by the Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Indonesia, Mr. Imam Nahrawi, as ''Ketua Umum'' or Chairman of ''Badan Olahraga Profesional Indonesia'' (Indonesia Professional Sports Agency) or BOPI. This latest position is to see Bera as the head of the government's regulating as well as developing agency of all professional sports in the country, which include among others Indonesian football leagues, Indonesian Basketball League, and Indonesian MMA leagues. He is now living with in

References

External links