SEA Games 2023: Records not on swimmer Quah Zheng Wen’s mind

SINGAPORE – Time is of the essence for a competitive swimmer and Singapore’s Quah Zheng Wen understands that all too well.

The clock is ticking and the 26-year-old is determined to make the most of his remaining competitive years.

After the latest outing at the Cambodia SEA Games where he bagged five golds, a silver and a bronze, Quah is aiming for a berth at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

He believes he is on track for a fourth Olympic outing, saying: “I’ve been to quite a few now. It would be nice to go for one more with my sisters (Quah Ting Wen and Quah Jing Wen) also.

“It’s about the people and the journey. I just want to treasure this time because you can work the rest of your life. But you can do sports only when you’re younger and I don’t know how long I’ll be doing it for.”

Since he burst onto the regional scene in 2011, Quah has won 32 golds over seven SEA Games – making him the most bemedalled male swimmer in Singapore. Former swim queen Joscelin Yeo holds the overall record with 40 golds.

His biggest haul at the Games was in 2015, when he won seven golds, four silvers and a bronze.

But records are not his focus. When asked if he was eyeing Yeo’s record, Quah admitted that he did not even know the exact number of medals he has won at the SEA Games.

Looking tired but relaxed at Changi Airport after returning to Singapore with the team on Friday, Quah said: “I haven’t really thought about that at all. Swimming at that time was just a completely different beast, right?

“I just go to every SEA Games and try my best. I’ve just been around the block a bit – this is my seventh one. I’ve never really bothered about this kind of thing.

“I’ll be 27 later this year and I don’t even know how many more I have to swim to hit that number. It’s just too much stress. I don’t even know when I will be done.”

Quah will complete his national service in mid-September, just before the Sept 23-Oct 8 Hangzhou Asian Games, and he plans to train full-time after that.

Ahead of a hectic 2023 that includes July’s World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Quah said: “I’m just going to do the work in the pool, do the work outside and hopefully it translates.

“This isn’t the fastest I’ve ever gone in my life (at the SEA Games). I was really going personal bests at this meet so it’s hard to say if I’m at my peak.

“But you can never just go best times all the time. Did I give a solid effort going into this meet? I can say for sure I did and we’re always going to chase for more.”

In Cambodia, Singapore’s swimmers topped the medal table at the regional meet once again, raking in 47 medals – 22 golds, 15 silvers and 10 bronzes – with six meet and seven national records.

Jonathan Tan was one of the top performers with four golds and a silver – he also qualified for the Paris Olympics in the men’s 50m freestyle.

The 21-year-old said: “We’ve been training very hard leading up to these SEA Games and as a whole, it’s a good motivation for us to carry on.

“For this meet, I managed to hit my goals and it was a bonus to hit the Olympic ‘A’ cut.”