SEA Games 2025: Singapore swimmers aim for dominance despite new regional threats

SINGAPORE – For the last two decades, Team Singapore’s swimmers have plundered multiple gold medals in the pool to top the medal tally at the SEA Games – in the last five editions (2015-2023) they won 23, 19, 23, 21, and 22 golds.

Beating their South-east Asian rivals in Bangkok remains the goal, as national swimming head coach Gary Tan said during their media day in November: “We are very clear on the mission that we are supposed to go in there and win the medals, and nothing has really changed for us on the narrative.”

While Olympic champion Joseph Schooling

retired in 2024

, they can count on stalwarts such as sprint king Teong Tzen Wei – who is looking to recapture his 50m freestyle and butterfly crowns from Jonathan Tan and Mikkel Lee respectively – distance queen Gan Ching Hwee, as well as 134-medal Quah siblings Ting Wen, Zheng Wen and Jing Wen.

The five swimmers will spearhead the 21-athlete squad which feature eight debutants and an average age of 22.

Once again the Quahs are in the spotlight, with

33-year-old Ting Wen chasing Joscelin Yeo’s record

of 40 golds and 62 medals, 24-year-old Jing Wen pencilled in for eight events while Zheng Wen, 29, is set to compete in 10 – bringing to mind his incredible 12-medal haul at the home games in 2015.

He told The Straits Times: “I am excited for the challenge. It’s been some time since I’ve competed at this capacity so I’m keen to see how it will go. This is simply my way of showing that just because I’m the eldest male swimmer on the team, that doesn’t mean I don’t have what it takes to still be the best.”

Head coach Tan noted the balance in the men’s and women’s teams, with Amanda Lim, Ting Wen and Gan holding the fort in the women’s freestyle, Letitia Sim and Jing Wen looking to sweep the breaststroke and butterfly events respectively, and Levenia Sim aiming for a breakthrough in the backstroke on her SEA Games debut.

In the men’s competition, Zheng Wen is gunning for glory in the freestyle, butterfly and back, while 21-year-old debutant Chan Junhao is looking to fill the void left by breaststroke specialist Nicholas Mahabir, who has been kept out of competitive swimming after contracting the Epstein-Barr virus, which led to the viral infection mononucleosis.

“I am wildly excited about the SEA Games and can’t wait to be able to race in long course meets again. As a SEA Games rookie, I’m looking to set myself apart from the rest of the field,” said Chan, a second-year economics undergrad at the University of Southern California, who holds the 50m breaststroke national record of 27.72.

While their dominance looks set to continue at the Huamark Sports Complex aquatic in Bangkok, Singapore will approach this campaign with caution – Singapore Aquatics has set an overall 20-gold target for its contingent comprising its pool and open-water swimmers, divers, water polo players and artistic swimmers.

The conservative goal is due to the emergence of formidable rivals in the region.

Arguably the biggest name in the pool is Filipino-Canadian Kayla Sanchez, who switched nationality in 2023 and is set to make her SEA Games bow.

The 24-year-old, who won a 4x100m freestyle silver and 4x100m medley bronze with Canada at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, has qualified in six events – the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle, 50m and 100m backstroke, and 50m butterfly. Her times in the free and fly events during the national try-out in August suggest that she will give the Singaporeans a good run for their money.

After Swimming Canada granted her release following the 2022 world championships, she said: “I’ve always been really proud of my Filipino heritage. Aside from how much I’ve grown and how good everything has been in Canada, I needed to make this really difficult decision for myself and my family to take this opportunity to represent the Philippines.

“I want to help inspire people that are like me to swim and get into the sport.”

Other notable names include Vietnam’s men’s 800m and 1,500m freestyle Asian champion Nguyen Huy Hoang, 25, and versatile Thai starlets Kamonchanok Kwanmuang, 20, and Mia Millar, 17, who also won medals at the Asian championships.

Tan noted: “Our girls are in good spirits as they work towards giving Kayla a run for her money. She is the one who is facing the pressure because she is, on paper, supposed to win those events. There are also the Viets and the Thais, so it’s going to be interesting.

“There are pockets of events where our debutantes such as 14-year-olds Victoria Lim and Julia Yeo will be taking part in. Hopefully we’ll spring a surprise on them. I want us to use these as challenges, and to relish these challenges.”