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t the 3rd Islamic Solidarity Games (ISG) in Palembang, South Sumatra, Triady Fauzi Sidiq's hard work was rewarded as he set a new record in the 100-meter freestyle.

The record was previously held by Indonesian swimming legend Richard Sam Bera for 12 years.

Aji, as he is nicknamed, scored 50.42 seconds when he took to the water as the first swimmer in the 4x100 relay on Thursday at Jakabaring Aquatics Stadium.

With Putra M. Randa, Alexis Wijaya Ohmar and Satrio Bagaskara, Aji helped the Indonesian team win bronze behind Turkey and Algeria with a total time of 3 minutes 26.86 seconds.

Despite carrying out his efforts in a relay, Aji's mark has been recognized by the national swimming authority as the new national record in the 100-meter freestyle.

In fact, Richard also clocked in at 50.80 seconds in a relay during the 2001 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

'I have been longing to break Richard's record in the 100-meter freestyle. I did it,' Aji said.

He also shattered the 50-meter freestyle mark held by Omar Suryaatmaja since December 2009 as well as his own mark in the 200-meter butterfly that he has held since 2011.

He improved his 50-meter freestyle record from 22.97 seconds to 22.88 seconds, which earned him a silver while in the 200-meter butterfly, he improved his mark from 2 minutes 0.19 seconds in Singapore to 1 minute 59.66 seconds.

Although he had to return his silver to organizers by virtue of the rules that a swimmer cannot compete in more events than allowed, his new mark remains intact as the new national record. Aji said that he was not aware of the rules until the Egyptian team filed a protest.

Having to return his silver, however, did not seem to dampen his mood.

'This is a birthday gift,' said Aji, who recently celebrated his 29th birthday this month.

Aji comes from a family of swimmers. His father, a trainer, taught him to swim when he was child near their home in Cimahi, West Java province.

When he was able to swim in a number of styles, he was later admitted to a club in Bandung, the province's capital city.

He was then recruited by a provincial team and won silver in a relay and bronze in a 400-meter butterfly during the 2008 National Games.

He contributed to the Indonesian contingent two silver medals and a bronze at the 4th Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games in Incheon, South Korea, in June.

He carried on with two gold and three silver medals at the Hong Kong Open in August.

Aji is now looking forward to the next Olympics.

'I hope this dream comes true,' he said.

While taking part in the Olympics is almost unlikely given his age, Aji has a task at hand when Indonesia takes part in the next SEA Games in Myanmar in December.