SINGAPORE — The team Singapore swimming contingent have been making a big splash at the pools as they contributed a total of 30 medals- 14 golds, nine silvers and seven bronze after four days of competition from May 6 to 9 at the 32nd SEA Games.
There are two more days left in the swimming competition on May 10 and May 11 at the Morodok Tecno Aquatics Centre, in Phnom Phen, Cambodia. At the previous SEA Games held last year in Vietnam, the swimmers brought home 21 golds, 11 silvers, and 12 bronze medals.
The Quah siblings – Quah Zheng Wen, Quah Ting Wen, Quah Jing Wen – have won 15 medals between them. Zhen Wen came out top in the men’s 100m backstroke relay, 100m butterfly, and 4×100 medley. He also won a silver and bronze each in the 100m freestyle and 50m backstroke respectively.
The youngest of the three siblings, Jing Wen who is 22, won gold medals in the women’s 100m and 200m butterfly, and the 4x100m freestyle relay. She also won a bronze medal in the 200m individual medley. Meanwhile Ting Wen won three golds and a silver medal. Two of those gold medals came in the 100m freestyle and 4×100 m freestyle relay, and she finished second in the 100m butterfly. All three of the Quah siblings teamed up with debutant Nicholas Mahabir to win the mixed 4x100m medley relay on Day 4 of the competition.
Day 1 – May 6
Singapore started the competition on a high by bagging four golds, two silvers and a bronze.Â
Quah Jin Wen claimed Singapore’s first gold medal of the night as she won the women’s 200m butterfly with a time of 2:10.63s. The next gold medal for Team Singapore saw Jonathan Tan piping Quah Zheng Wen for the gold medal in the men’s 100m freestyle. Tan finished with a time of 48.80s while Zheng Wen came in second at 48.99s. Zheng Wen did not have to wait long for a first place finish at the SEA Games as he claimed his fifth gold medal win in the men’s 100m backstroke, with a time of 55.22s.
The other medals of the night for Singapore came from Letitia Sim and Tan. Sim took the silver in the women’s 50m breaststroke with a time of 31.62s, while Tan won bronze in the men’s 200m individual medley (2:02.42s)
The night ended on a sweet note for the swimmers as the quartet of Quah Ting Wen, Marina Chan, Quah Jing Wen and Amanda Lim gave Singapore its 1,000th gold medal at the SEA Games. With an improved timing from the previous SEA Games, Singapore clocked a time of 3:44.29s to claim a first place finish ahead of the Philippines (3:47.96) and Thailand (3:50.01).
Day 2 – May 7
Team Singapore swimmers continued their impressive form in the pool on the second day of competition as they swept three golds, three silvers and four bronze medals.
It was a memorable night for Singapore Squatics as Nicholas Mahabir made his debut in swimming after making the switch from water-polo, and a change of guard in the men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay team. Jonathan Tan’s timing in the men’s 50m freestyle made the qualifying mark for the Olympics. He swam with a time of 21.95 to win gold, while teammate Teong Tzen Wei took silver with 22.50s.
Gan Ching Wee successfully reclaimed the women’s 200m freestyle with a time of 2:01.76s bettering her performance in Vietnam when she swam 2:02.06s. Despite giving his best, debutant Mahabir had to settle for the silver medal in the men’s 100m breaststroke clocking 1:01.22, with Vietnam’s Pham Thanh Bao coming in first with a new games record 1:00.97s. In the same event, Maximillian Ang won the bronze medal with a time of 1:02.21.
The second gold medal of Day 2 for Singapore came in the women’s 200m individual medley. Letitia Sim set a new national record, with a time of 2:14.49 to bring home the gold medal while Quah Jing Wen’s 2:16.39 was enough for a bronze medal.
Previously there were Joseph Schooling and Quah Zheng Wen in the team when they won the men’s 4×200 m freestyle relay gold and bronze medal at the 2019 and 2021 SEA Games. But despite being a young team, comprising of Jonathan Tan, Ardi Azman, Glen Lim and Darren Chua, they managed to put on a good performance and win the silver medal (7:21.50) ahead of favourites Malaysia (7:21.55)
Day 3 – May 8
It was the same script for Singapore on Day 3 of the swimming competition as they breezed through the night with three golds, one silver and a bronze medal. Quah Zheng Wen, Nicholas Mahabir, Teong Tzen Wei and Jonathan Tan not only successfully defended their gold medal in the men’s 4x100m medley but they set a new national record and broke the games record too with a time of 3:37.45.
Quah Ting Wen won her 50th SEA Games medal and fifth straight 100m freestyle gold medal cruising to a time of 55.83. In 2021 her time was 55.60, while in 2019 it was 54.74. Singapore took the gold and silver medal in the women’s 400m freestyle event. Gan Ching Hwee (4:15.17) won her second gold medal in Cambodia, while Ashley Lim (4:17.16) came in second.
Day 4 – May 9
It was arguably the best performance yet for the swimmers as they won four golds, three silvers and a bronze to bring their total medal haul to 30 so far after four days of competition at the Morodok Tecno Aquatics Centre, in Phnom Phen, Cambodia.
Singapore started Day 4 with the Quah siblings clinching a one-two finish in the women’s 100m butterfly. Quah Jing Wen won gold (59.02) and Quah Ting Wen came in second with a time of 59.51. According to the Singapore Swimming Association, this is swimming’s 380th gold medal at the SEA Games. There was another first and second place finish for Team Singapore at the pools on the night. Quah Zheng Wen bettered his timing from the previous game to bring home the gold medal in the men’s 100m butterfly, clocking 52.04, and Teong Tzeng Wen settled for silver (52.60).
Letitia Sim bagged another gold medal for herself from the SEA Games in 100m breaststroke with a time 1:07.94, while teammate Christie Chue finished in third placing (1:10.94). The biggest cheer for the night came in the mixed 4x100m medley as the Quah siblings and Nicholas Mahabir won gold for Singapore. According to the Singapore Swimming Association, the timing of 3:51.72 is a new national record.Â