Singapore’s young swimmers smash national, personal records at SEA Games

NEW CLARK CITY, Philippines — Singapore’s young swimming stars continued to make their mark at the SEA Games, with debutant Darren Chua the headline act with a gold in the 200m freestyle on Saturday (Dec 7).

On the fourth day of competition at the New Clark City Aquatic Complex, 19-year-old Chua beat Malaysia’s defending champion Welson Sim, clocking 1:48.26 for a new personal best. Vietnam’s Hoang Quy Phuoc took the bronze.

It was Chua’s third gold at the Games, after wins in the 4x100m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relays.

“I wasn’t expecting anything. I was pretty nervous getting into this race, it was one of the hardest races I’ve ever swum,” Chua told reporters.

“I was expecting a podium finish, but it didn’t matter if I got first, second or third. I just wanted to swim my best — that’s it.”

In the women’s 400m freestyle, 16-year-old Gan Ching Hwee also clocked a personal best to clinch a silver medal.

Eighteen-year-old Maximilian Ang, too, set a personal best as well as a new national record with a time of 2:13.96 in the 200m breaststroke, taking home the bronze medal.

“After today, I’m beginning to see some of the depth come through,” said National Training Centre head coach Gary Tan.

“These guys are all young, so we’ve got a good depth of kids coming through. I just hope we can keep building on that.”

It was also a day to remember for swimmer Quah Ting Wen, who won the women’s 50m butterfly with a Games record time of 26.50.

Later in the evening, Quah joined forces with younger sister Jing Wen, Cherlyn Yeoh and Amanda Lim to win gold in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay. They also set a new Games and national record.

Singapore’s swimmers have now won 14 gold medals. CNA

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