SEA Games: Singapore swimmers finish campaign with best-ever away haul

KUALA LUMPUR — It was perhaps only appropriate that it was a Singaporean team – the men’s 4x100m medley relay side comprising Joseph Schooling, Quah Zheng Wen, Lionel Khoo and Darren Lim – that stood atop the podium as the curtains came down on the 29th South-East Asian (SEA) Games swimming programme on Saturday evening (Aug 26).

After all, the Republic had once again showcased their dominance in the pool at the Games, topping the swimming medal tally with a haul of 19 gold, six silver and 10 bronze.

In comparison, their nearest rivals Vietnam garnered 10 gold, seven silver and six bronze medals.

It also means that Singapore has logged their best-ever swimming medal haul at an away Games, beating the previous high of 17 gold, nine silver and 13 bronze at the 2011 edition of the regional competition in Indonesia.

Speaking to the media after the final swimming event of the night, National Training Centre (NTC) head coach Gary Tan said he was heartened by the performances of Singapore’s swimmers at the Games.

Revealing that they had initially predicted to win just 15 gold medals this year, Tan said: “One of the most amazing things from this Games is that I saw some of these kids come through together as a team.

“That was one of the most important things for us as a swimming community where the coaches, staff and swimmers did their part and contributed to this SEA Games, and that's why you see such results right now.

“I kept quiet about our medal targets before the Games because we didn't know how the other countries would do, and we could only control how we did. But we had a prediction list where we had 15 gold medals on the card, and I’m very pleased that we’ve managed to surpass that target.”

The final day of swimming at this year’s Games saw Singapore add three gold, one silver and two bronze to their tally.

Quah Jing Wen got Singapore off to a good start in the first final of the evening – the women’s 100m butterfly – as she posted a time of 59.38sec to claim gold, while her elder sister Ting Wen took home the bronze in 1:00.69.

Lionel Khoo was the next to go onto the podium as he clocked 28.63 in the 50m breaststroke to secure a bronze.

Amanda Lim then continued her dominance in the women’s 50m freestyle, winning her fifth straight gold in the event in a new Games record time of 25.41sec, while Ting Wen finished runner-up in a time of 25.46sec.

Fittingly, Singapore’s final swimming gold at the Games came in the 4x100m medley relay, as the quartet set a new Games and national record time of 3min 37.46sec.

While the Singapore swimming contingent fielded a largely youthful team at this year’s Games, Tan pinpointed Teong Tzen Wei and Quah Jing Wen as two up-and-coming swimmers who he had been particularly impressed with.

Teong won a surprise gold in the 50m freestyle on Friday (Aug 25), while 16-year-old Jing Wen belied her tender years as she took home five gold medals (100m, 200m butterfly, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay).

“One of the main things that is stuck in my head and is still fresh is Teong Tzen Wei's (performance),” said Tan. “That was something which we were amazed with. It was his SEA Games debut, and to swim the way he did was incredible.

“Another one I have to give a shout out to is Jing Wen, who did a fantastic job in the 100m and 200m fly, so kudos to the both of them.”

But it was not just the Singapore swimming team that surpassed expectations.

The national synchronised swimming team also impressed, winning three of their five events, while the men’s water polo team were also able to keep their long-running gold medal streak at the Games alive.

In total, Singapore’s aquatics contingent has managed to secure 23 gold medals so far – exceeding their previous best tally of 19 gold. They could add to that haul in the coming days as the sport of diving still ongoing.

And Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) president Lee Kok Choy was understandably pleased with how the country’s various aquatics disciplines have performed at the Games.

“I'm very delighted with our SEA Games performance so far,” Lee told TODAY.

“I think there were several factors in play here which contributed to our success.

“The first is that it is clear each of the various teams were well-prepared. The next is that every individual in the respective teams fought to the very end for their competition…they never gave up, and they managed to produce results.

“You can see that we've built on the momentum generated by Joseph's Olympic gold last year.

“There were young swimmers who were not in play in 2015 but who are now winning gold medals…the relay teams were also breaking records, which just shows the depth of the swimming talent we have, while most of the swimmers also achieved their personal bests here.

“So in that sense, you can see the huge progress we've made. But this is just the beginning of the road, and we’ll have to continue working hard in order to achieve greater things for aquatic sports in Singapore.”