SEA Games: Quah siblings take centre stage as Singapore dominate the pool again

KUALA LUMPUR — Just before Quah Jing Wen dived into the pool at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil for the anchor leg of Wednesday’s (Aug 23) South-East Asian (SEA) Games women 4x200m freestyle relay final, her elder sister Ting Wen – the second swimmer in the quartet – had a simple, but powerful message for her.

“You got this, I love you,” she said.

Buoyed by the encouragement, Jing Wen powered through the final leg as she helped the Singapore team, which also included Christie Chue and Rachel Tseng, retain its gold medal in a Games record time of 8:10.41, and break the previous mark of 8:11.75 set at the 2009 SEA Games.

Nearest rivals Thailand finished more than five seconds behind in 8:16.17 while the Philippines clinched bronze in 8:18.58.

Speaking after the race, Jing Wen said her sister’s words had spurred her on.

“She just said she loved me…it warmed my heart, and it’s comforting to know that she’s behind me and cheering me on,” the 17-year-old said.

“It really helps to have a familiar face with you training and pushing throughout each event. They say swimming is an individual sport, but it’s really not. All of us, including my friends and teammates, have been through a lot together…we’re a tight-knit family, so it’s nice to have all this support.”

Ultimately, the third day of the 29th SEA Games swimming programme belonged to Singapore’s Quah siblings – which also includes brother Zheng Wen – as the trio won four of the Republic’s five gold medals from the pool.

Eldest sibling Ting Wen led the charge for the Quahs as the 25-year-old triumphed in all three of her events – the 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly and 4x200m freestyle relay – while Zheng Wen won the men’s 200m backstroke. Jing Wen’s gold came in the relay.

When asked what he thought about competing at the SEA Games with his sisters, Zheng Wen, who set a Games record time of 2:00.90, said: “It’s definitely very special, because it hasn’t happened all that often. 

“The first time was at the 2015 (SEA Games). It’s nice to have that family support, they’ve been my rocks throughout (this Games).

“We haven’t spoken to our parents yet…but they’re definitely very proud of us.”

It was this support, along with that from the 100-odd Singaporean fans in the stands, that proved crucial to Ting Wen on Wednesday.

Revealing that it was the first time she had competed in three events in a night, Ting Wen admitted to feeling nervous before her first event, the 100m freestyle.

“I’m feeling relieved…it’s the longest four hours I’ve had in a while,” said Ting Wen, who was seen crying following her first individual victory at the KL Games.

“I was really nervous coming into today because I’ve never done three races back to back before. But it helps having all the support from the people in the stands, the coaches…and all those rooting for us back home. I can’t tell you how much all this means to me.”

Meanwhile, Olympic champion Joseph Schooling continued to rack up the gold medals at this SEA Games as he set a Games record of 51.38sec in his pet event, the 100m butterfly, and finished ahead of Indonesia’s Triady Fauzi Sidiq (53.03sec) and Glenn Victor Sutanto (53.25sec).

The 22-year-old, who now has three new SEA Games records in as many events, said the race had tired him out more than expected, but was still happy with his performance.

“Coming into this meet wasn’t all about the times…it’s about my effort, mentoring the younger kids and being a role model for them,” he explained. “My time’s not the best, but I’m happy with the effort that I gave and the result.

“The most important thing was getting my hand on the wall first and setting a new Games record.”