SINGAPORE: It was a bittersweet Olympic Games debut for Team Singapore swimmer Gan Ching Hwee as she rewrote her women’s 1,500m freestyle national record in Paris with a new time of 16 minutes and 10.13 seconds on July 30 at the Paris La Defense Arena.
Despite finishing first in Heat 1, she narrowly missed out on a spot in the finals, placing ninth out of 16 swimmers.
The top eight swimmers from the heats qualified for the finals, and Gan was placed behind Maertens Leonie, who clocked a time of 16 minutes and 08.69 seconds in Heat 3.
On the same day, fellow Team Singapore swimmer Jonathan Tan debuted at the Olympic Games. He finished in fifth place, with a time of 49.60 seconds in the 100m freestyle Heat 6.
Tan also participated in the 50m freestyle on Aug 1, finishing fourth with 22.26 seconds in Heat 6.
Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, proudly proclaimed on his Facebook page, “Singapore Swimmers Making Waves on the World Stage!” as he hailed both swimmers’ Olympic debut.
Despite falling short of advancing to the finals in their respective events, Minister Tong highlighted their unwavering dedication and perseverance, embodying the essence of the Singaporean sporting spirit.
“Ching Hwee showcased her endurance and speed by rewriting her women’s 1,500m freestyle national record and personal best with a timing of 16 minutes 10.13 seconds. She finished first in Heat 1 and placed 9th out of 16 overall. Just a whisker away from the finals!
Johnny also sliced through the waters, clocking 49.60 seconds to place fifth in the men’s 100m freestyle Heat 6,” said the Minister.
Singapore Aquatics also eagerly chimed in with their congratulations, heralding Gan’s achievement in the 1,500m freestyle. “Gan Ching Hwee has done it again!” posted Singapore Aquatics on their social media page.
“With a phenomenal time of 16:10.13 in the 1500m freestyle, she has achieved a new personal best and broken her women’s open national record set in June (16:10.61).
She finished 9th and is the 1st reserve for the Final! What a nerve-wracking performance on the world’s biggest stage!”
Gan, along with Letitia Sim are the two Team Singapore swimmers from the women’s relay team that are competing in individual events.
Letitia clocked a timing of 1 minute 07.75 seconds and 2 minutes 29.46 seconds in the heats of the women’s 100m breaststroke (July 28) and 200m breaststroke (July 31), respectively.
As for Gan, she will continue her Olympic Games journey on Friday, Aug 2, in the women’s 800m freestyle. She will be in Lane 1 in Heat 1, with the event taking place at about 5.35 pm (Singapore time).
Gan’s final event in the Olympic Games will be the women’s 4 x 100m medley relay.
Team Singapore will be represented by Gan, Quah Jing Wen, Letitia and Levenia Sim. They will be in Lane 8 in Heat 2 of the women’s 4 x 100m medley on Aug 3 (Saturday) at about 6.44pm (Singapore Time).