SINGAPORE – Once the domain of the Quah family, Singapore swimming now has a new sibling pair to count on for success – Letitia Sim, 20, and 17-year-old Levenia.

The sisters will make their debut at the Hangzhou Asian Games in September, and Letitia is looking forward to experiencing more adventures with her younger sister, particularly after two eventful outings at the SEA Games in 2022 and 2023.

Ahead of the women’s 100m breaststroke heats at the Hanoi Games in 2022, she got stuck in the toilet at the My Dinh Aquatics Centre.

A worker had to climb through the false ceiling into her stall to prise open the door with tools, and her heat was pushed back to the end of the programme.

Letitia ended up winning the event and more drama ensued in the next edition in Phnom Penh, where she fell sick in the sweltering 36 deg C heat – a marked increase from the 16 deg C weather that she is used to while living in Alabama, United States.

The challenges did not stop her from grabbing seven golds, two silvers and one bronze across both Games.

Speaking to The Straits Times at the Singapore Aquatics Asian Games media day at the OCBC Aquatic Centre on Wednesday, Letitia said: “Adventures are fun. They make for great stories, and they are exciting to go through.

“But when it comes to the competition, I definitely wish everything would go according to plan and be as smooth as possible.

“That said, I always expect the unexpected and feel I’ll be able to adapt to what happens and be able to communicate with different people to get the help that I need.”

It may be her first Asian Games but breaststroke specialist Letitia knows she has a legacy to live up to, with Roanne Ho winning a women’s 50m breaststroke silver at the 2018 Asiad in Jakarta.

She also has to be a “babysitter” to Levenia, who will also be making her senior international debut.

Letitia said: “I don’t really see Roanne’s achievements as external or extra pressure because I also want a medal. But my ultimate goal is to make the Paris Olympic cut.

“My stress will mostly come from babysitting Levenia because I’m the older sister and I want to make sure she is okay. The last time we raced together was with TNT Swimming more than two years ago, and it’s really exciting because I’ve always wanted to race with her again.”

The women’s 4x100m medley relay will make for an interesting contest as the Sims will be joined by Quah sisters Ting Wen and Jing Wen – their brother Zheng Wen is also competing in the Asiad.

Letitia added: “People have called her (Levenia) the missing piece of the puzzle with her backstroke ability, and it could also be two sets of sisters with the Quahs... so it’s like one big happy family and really exciting.”

While Singapore finished as the third-best swimming nation in 2018 with two golds, one silver and three bronzes – Japan and China were first and second respectively – the task will be harder for the 23-strong squad this time, with double gold medallist Joseph Schooling out of the Asian Games.

National swimming head coach Gary Tan noted that two golds is possible “on a good day” in the men’s 50m freestyle through Jonathan Tan and Teong Tzen Wei, and in the men’s 50m butterfly with Mikkel Lee and Teong.

He said: “We are going there to break personal bests. If medals come along with that, it will be a natural process. The sprints are a 50-50 crapshoot, as long as our guys fire on all cylinders, they can challenge for the podium.

“It’s slim pickings in the relays, but we have a chance in the men’s 4x100m free and women’s and mixed medley. Levenia is a strong addition for us in backstroke, where we have been traditionally a bit weaker in.

“But it’s her first major Games, which can be quite overwhelming for a 17-year-old, and we will try to keep her in a good state of mind.”

Jonathan, who won the men’s 50m freestyle gold at the 2023 SEA Games and qualified for the 2024 Olympics, is flattered by his coach’s assessment but does not want to place more stress on himself by focusing on a medal.

Instead, the 21-year-old said: “It’s always been about personal bests for me. I’m still aiming for the Olympic cut in the men’s 100m free, trying to lower my time for the 50m free, and it would be a bonus if I win a medal.”