Singapore's Gan Ching Hwee clinches Asian Games silver in 1,500m freestyle, sets new national records

TOKYO: When it came to her 1,500m freestyle race on Sunday (Sep 20), the approach for Gan Ching Hwee was simple - to "go out fast and just be brave".

And at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, the 23-year-old did just that as she clinched her first Games medal in a new national record time of 16:00.45. Gan's time of 8:29.56 for the first 800m of the race also broke the national record for the women's 800m freestyle.

China's Li Bingjie won gold with a time of 15:53.52 while Japan's Ichika Kajimoto finished in 16:06.83 to claim the bronze. At the last edition of the Games in Hangzhou, Gan finished fourth with a time of 16:24.67.

"The game plan was really to go out fast and just be brave, because going out fast and trying to be ahead can be quite daunting sometimes," she told reporters.

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"I really leaned back on the training I've had, the preparation that coach Eugene (Chia) and all my support staff have helped me with, and the belief they put in me. That really fuelled my entire race today."

The last Singaporean woman to claim an individual Games medal in swimming was Roanne Ho, who took silver in the 50m breaststroke in 2018.

There were a "great mix of emotions" after she touched the wall, Gan said. There was an overwhelming sense of joy and relief, but also a "tinge of disappointment" at not being able to go under the 16-minute mark.

"That's the barrier that I really, really, really wanted to break. But obviously really happy with the results today; couldn't have asked for a better result," she added.

"SLIVERS OF DOUBT"

In the days leading up to her Asian Games silver, there were "slivers of doubt" which crossed Gan's mind, she said.

And the main one was: would she miss out on a medal after being seeded third, similar to what happened at the recent Commonwealth Games?

At the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in July, she finished fourth in the 1,500m freestyle. In the 400m freestyle, she lowered her own 400m freestyle national record and finished fifth.

But these days, the 23-year-old is a swimmer who has learned to cast her doubts aside to "dial in and focus".

"I've grown a lot, not just from the improvement in my times but also the mindset," she said.

"When the race actually started, I just left all the past things behind and began on a new slate and then just kept going."

Coming into the Games, the 23-year-old had the fourth-fastest 1,500m freestyle time in Asia this year, behind Kajimoto, Li and Kajimoto’s compatriot Airi Ebina.  

She also set a national record in the event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, before smashing that mark at the World Aquatics Championships on home soil last year en route to finishing seventh in the final. 

Gan holds five individual national records (200m, 400m, 800m and 1,500m freestyle, as well as 400m individual medley). 

She is pencilled in to compete in the 400m and 800m freestyle events later in the meet. 

"I thought I would feel relieved that my main event is over. But I think the expectations always grow, and I think learning to manage that is part of the process of being an athlete," she said.

At the last Asian Games, Singapore's swim team clinched one medal, a silver in the men’s 50m butterfly courtesy of Teong Tzen Wei.

Singapore's Reagan Cheng also finished tenth in the men's 200m individual medley final on Sunday after clocking a personal best in the heats, with Jonathan Tan and Mikkel Lee placing ninth and tenth in the men's 100m freestyle final.

Mikayla Tan, meanwhile, was seventh in the women's 50m breaststroke final, and the quartet of Victoria Lim, Megan Yo, Christina Schulz and Chan Zi Yi finished sixth in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay.