This time last year, Amanda Lim was ready to give up the life she had known for the last 11 years, her routine of 4.45am wake-up calls, punishing hours in the swimming pool, and the pressure of performing at major meets.
She was ready to call time on a career that had reaped her 16 SEA Games gold medals since her debut in 2007, with her swansong at the Asian Games last September.
But her supposed final career race did not go according to plan, as she clocked 25.47sec in her pet event, the 50m freestyle, to finish fifth. The tears of disappointment did not flow until she sat down for a debrief with her coaches, and after three months off swimming, Lim decided to trudge on.
"The Asian Games hit me pretty hard and I had to think long and hard about what I wanted to do," said Lim on the sidelines of the Singapore Swimming Association's fund-raising dinner at Shangri-La Hotel last night.
"I felt I had something to prove to myself as I still had so much to give, and that it would be unfair to myself to stop there," said Lim, whose personal best is 25.38sec.
Lim is one of the oldest in the 21-member squad for the Nov 30-Dec 11 SEA Games in the Philippines. The 26-year-old, unbeaten in the 50m free since 2009, will be gunning for her sixth consecutive gold in the event.
With six debutants in the team, Lim will also be a mentor to the younger swimmers.
She added: "We have a lot of young swimmers and I want to pass on my experience to them and make sure they don't put too much pressure on themselves and enjoy the Games."
Freestyle specialist Jonathan Tan will be one of the young guns aiming for gold in December, with the 17-year-old student up for the 50m and 200m free, 4x100m and 4x200m free relays.
He is one of the promising swimmers after breaking Joseph Schooling's 50m free national record in 22.46sec at the Fina World Junior Swimming Championships last month. Teammate Teong Tzen Wei won the gold at the last Games in Kuala Lumpur in 22.55.
"I feel excited that I have a chance to medal and a first SEA Games medal will be a huge boost to my confidence," said the teenager.
"This is also a chance for the relay team to qualify for the Olympic Games and that is the main goal of the team."
Olympic champion Schooling told The Straits Times that it was "awesome" to see young swimmers like Jonathan and 21-year-old Darren Chua coming up.
"This is the group of swimmers who push me in practice and I'm so happy to see them excel, and having them do well pushes me to do better also," said Schooling, who is pencilled in for six events in Clark.
"I'm looking forward to going there and racing, seeing what to correct going into the Olympics but preparations are going well and I'm happy where I'm at."
Last night's fund-raising dinner was attended by over 400 guests including Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing, and saw the SSA collecting a total of $400,000. The funds will be used for its programmes, including education and career support for athletes.
