Sep 28
The pressure was on the Singapore swim team to perform at the 2014 Asian Games. And they duly delivered the goods, and in style. When the curtains came down on the swimming competition of the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, Team Singapore swimmers had contributed five medals to Singapore’s total tally.
19 year-old Joseph Schooling completed his set of medals, which concluded a sensational Gold medal performance in the 100m Butterfly event, becoming the Republic’s first male swimmer in 32 years to strike gold at the Asiad. And he did so by clocking a Games record of 51.76sec. He also took silver in the 50m Butterfly and bronze in the 200m Butterfly event.
Though Singapore’s top women’s butterfly swimmer Tao Li did not manage to win a hat-trick of gold medals in her pet 50m Butterfly event, she exceeded all expectations, including her own, by clinching silver in a field of world-class swimmers. She lost to China’s Lu Ying by a close 0.45 sec. Tao Li also won a bronze in the 100m Butterfly event, and her successful exploits gives Singapore plenty of hope for more winning performances from the intrepid 24-year-old.
The rest of the swimmers did not disappoint and showed their mettle and tenacious spirits in the face of intense and world-class competition. In the Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay, the quartet of Danny Yeo Kai Quan, Pang Sheng Jun , Teo Zhen Ren and Clement Lim swam to a national record of 7:25:46, with Yeo clocking a personal best of 1:49:68. In the Men’s 100m Freestyle, Clement Lim also achieved a personal best of 50.61sec. Rachel Tseng and Nur Marina Chan recorded personal bests in the Women’s 400m and 50m Freestyle respectively.
Singapore Swimming Association President Mr. Lee Kok Choy, summed up his thoughts of Team Singapore Swimmers’ performance: “We did very well and I am very pleased with the results. We had three major games this year and this is Asian Games performance is the best among all.
Before the swimmers left, I said that if the swimmers were to do their personal best I would be very happy. In fact, all the swimmer did well and we also broke 1 National Record and 5 Personal Best times on top of the 1 Gold, 2 Silver and 2 Bronze medals.
We are in the right direction. We also do see very strong performances by the Vietnamese and Thailand in the relay so it will be going to be a tough challenge at the SEA Games.”
It was an excellent showing by our local swimmers, all of whom have either equaled or exceeded their personal bests. Compared to the last Asiad in 2010 which saw the team achieve 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 2 National Records and 1 Under-14 Record, the swimmers outdid their previous performance with 1 Gold, 2 Silvers, 2 Bronze, 1 National Record and 5 Personal Bests. As a result of their excellent performances, the following swimmers have met their Automated Qualifying Time (AQT) for the 2015 Southeast Asian Games:
1. Joseph Schooling (Men’s 50m, 100m and 200m Butterfly , 200m Individual Medley) 2. Danny Yeo Kai Quan (Men’s 200m and 400m Freestyle) 3. Men’s Team of Danny Yeo Kai Quan, Pang Sheng Jun, Teo Zhen Wen and Clement Lim (4x200m Freestyle) 4. Men’s Team of Rainer Ng, Christopher Cheong, Joseph Schooling and Clement Lim (4x100m Medley) 5. Lynette Lim (Women’s 400m and 800m Freestyle) 6. Samantha Yeo (Women’s 50m and 100m Breaststroke) 7. Tao Li (Women’s 50m and 100m Butterfly) 8. Women’s Team of Nur Marina Chan, Amanda Lim, Quah Ting Wen and Lynette Lim (4x100m Freestyle) 9. Women’s Team of Lynette Lim, Amanda Lim, Quah Ting Wen and Rachel Tseng (4x200m Freestyle) 10. Women’s Team of Tao Li, Samantha Yeo, Quah Ting Wen and Amanda Lim (4x100m Medley) 11. Clement Lim (Men’s 50m and 100m Freestyle) 12. Quah Ting Wen (Women’s 200m Butterfly) 13. Roanne Ho (Women’s 50m Breaststroke) 14. Amanda Lim (Women’s 50m Freestyle)
The 2014 Asian Games would also be Team Singapore’s Head Coach David Lim’s last Asiad but the good news is that he will still be mentoring the team for the 2015 Southeast Asian Games. Jessie Phua, chef-de-mission for the 2014 Asian Games expressed her appreciation for the coach who has delivered the best results ever at the Asian Games: “I didn’t realize this Asian Games would be your swan song! You are going to be so missed! Has it been 22 years already? Thanks for being the pillar of strength for our swimmers all these years.” She added: “Such a befitting send-off by our swimmers: Singapore’s most successful swimming achievements at the Asian Games! So great to have you in my team! THANKS Coach David!”
While winning is important, it is the learning process and overall development of our swimmers that were the key objectives set out by the association. Schooling and Tao Li's wins were clear indicators of their ascendancy and provides plenty of motivation for the rest of their team mates to further improve and excel. In fact, when the team returned to Singapore on Sunday afternoon and was welcomed by families, friends and members of the media, the first thoughts on their minds was to set their next target.
“I think I did pretty well, what I achieved at the 2014 Asian Games was beyond my expectations. I am also proud of what the Singapore team has achieved especially with the group of younger swimmers. It is a good sign of things to come for Singapore Swimming. I will take a few days rest before flying off to China to start my training. I plan to swim more events therefore I will need more endurance training. However, I will be back in Singapore in November to swim in the FINA/MASTBANK Swimming World Cup and I am looking forward to swim in front of the home crowd at the OCBC Aquatic Centre,” reflected Tao Li
The FINA/MASTBANK Swimming World Cup will be held at the OCBC Aquatic Center on 1 – 2 November 2014 and will feature an eye-watering field of world class swimmers including Olympics, Commonwealth and World Champion Chad Le Clos, and World Champion, Katinka Hozzs. All swimmers are already relishing the exclusive opportunity to pit their skills and compete alongside elite swimmers. It would be yet the biggest platform since the Asian Games for our local talents as they prepare and prime themselves for one of the biggest swim of their lives.
More details of the FINA/MASTBANK Swimming World Cup will be announced at a later date.