SINGAPORE - Rower Joan Poh did not let her Olympic dream sink without a trace.

The staff nurse, 30, who was kept busy during the pandemic, debuted at the Tokyo Games earlier this year, having qualified at the last opportunity.

Despite a modest finish of 28th out of 32 athletes, her journey to Tokyo has made waves among many.

Ms Poh, who works in Tan Tock Seng Hospital's renal department, had to take several stretches of no-pay leave to train and compete abroad.

But the start of the pandemic in early 2020 saw her return to the front line, pulling 10-hour shifts from April for almost a year.

She resumed full-time training in March this year and, two months later, qualified for the Tokyo Games.

"When I'm a nurse, I'm 100 per cent the nurse, to make sure I do not short-change my patients," she said. "And when I'm rowing, I'm 100 per cent focused on rowing."

Her story was shared by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who in his National Day Rally speech in August, held up Ms Poh as a shining example of what it means to be "the best of being Singaporean".

Ms Poh said she was "very moved" by PM Lee's mention, and that it gave her Olympic pursuit a different meaning.

"Right up till then, I had felt like I had failed," she said, referring to her placing in Tokyo.

"But through the PM's mention, I realised (that) there was meaning in having taken and lasted the journey.

"It made me feel like I was enough; that my fight and spirit were enough," said Ms Poh who is now eyeing participation in the SEA Games in Hanoi in May.

She hopes to compete in smaller events and train in Australia ahead of the SEA Games.