Quah Siblings Score Multiple Medals For Singapore Through Day 2 Of SEA Games

2023 SOUTHEAST ASIAN (SEA) GAMES

• Saturday, May 6th – Thursday, May 11th
• Morodok Tecno National Aquatics Center, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
• LCM (50m)
• World Championships/Olympic Games Qualifier
• Live Results

The 2023 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games kicked off yesterday from Cambodia, with the swimming competition taking place from May 6th through May 11th.

A total of 39 events will be contested at this year’s edition of the biannual competition which historically sees 11 nations take part, including Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.

We noted ahead of time that longstanding multi-medalist Joseph Schooling of Singapore would not be taking part in this year’s competition, indicating the Olympic champion considered himself to not be ‘race-ready.’

Men’s Events

Through two days of competition, even sans Schooling, the nation of Singapore has staked its claim on the overall swimming trophy with several multiple medalists.

26-year-old Quah Zheng Wen made it happen in the men’s 100m back event, racing his way to gold in a time of 55.22. That defeated Indonesia’s Farrel Armandio Tangkas who snagged silver in 55.80 while Filipino athlete Jerard Jacinto rounded out the top 3 in 55.99.

Remarkably this 1back gold marked former Cal Beat Quah’s 28th SEA Games swimming title and his 5th consecutive in this 100m back event. The veteran earned his first gold as a 15-year-old at the 2022 edition of this competition.

Just under an hour earlier, Quah had battled teammate Jonathan Tan in the men’s 100m free. 21-year-old Tan got to the wall first, firing off a winning effort and a new lifetime best of 48.80 while Quah settled for silver in 48.99.

At the last edition of the SEA Games, Quah topped the podium in a time of 49.57 while Tan earned silver in 50.17 so the event has rapidly improved in just one year’s time.

Quah also raced in the men’s 50m back, where he bagged bronze behind winner I Gede Simon Sudartawa of Indonesia and Jacinto once again.

Sudartawa posted a time of 25.16 while Jacinto was next in 25.56 and Quah got to the wall in 25.61.

Sudartawa was the bronze medalist last year so the Indonesian upgraded his position 2 spots, getting closer to his own national record of 25.01 he logged in 2018.

Going back to Tan, the Singaporean made history by qualifying for his first Olympic Games. He topped the men’s 50m free podium in a mark of 21.95, clearing the Olympic Qualification Time of 22.07 needed for Paris 2024.

Tan was actually quicker in the heats, producing a time of 21.91 to establish a new national record. He sliced .02 off of the previous Singaporean standard of 21.93 Teong Tzen Wei logged at the 2022 edition of these Games. Both men are the sole Singaporeans to have delved under the 22-second barrier.

This time around in the 50m free Teong earned silver in 22.50 while Vietnam’s Jeremie Loic Nino Luong also landed on the podium in 22.84 for bronze.

Another Vietnamese swimmer, Pham Thanh Bao topped the men’s 100m breast podium, producing a winning result of 1:00.97 while his teammate, Tran Hung Nguyen, successfully defended his 200m IM title in a time of 2:01.28.

Finally, Vietnam captured the men’s 4x200m free relay gold medal, with their squad hitting a time of 7:18.51.

Women’s Events

The Quah siblings of Singapore did damage in the women’s events as well, with Quah Jing Wen taking the women’s 200m fly event.

22-year-old Quah topped the podium in a winning time of 2:10.63, successfully defending her title from 2022.

Last year Quah touched in a result of 2:09.52, so she was just over a second off that mark en route to beating out Thailand’s Kamonchanok Kwanmuang who scored silver in 2:11.56 while her teammate Jinjutha Pholjamjumrus bagged bronze in 2:14.37.

Quah also collected bronze in the women’s 200m IM in a time of 2:16.39 while her Singaporean squadmate Letitia Sim got it done for gold in 2:14.14. That checked in as a new national record for Sim, overtaking the 2:15.88 Quah put on the books in 2019.

Kwangmuang was the silver medalist in that women’s 2IM with a time of 2:11.56. She owns the Thai national record with her lifetime best of 2:15.06 produced last December at the SEA Age Group Championships.

Sim competes for the University of Michigan in the NCAA, having joined the squad in the fall of 2021. She placed 9th the 100y breaststroke at the 2023 Women’s NCAA Championships and earned All-Big Ten Second Team for her performances over the course of the season.

Additional winners on the women’s side here in Cambodia thus far included Gan Ching Hwee touching first for Singapore in the women’s 200m free. She clocked 2:01.76 to get the edge over Kwanmuang who snagged yet another silver in 2:02.21. SGP’s Chan Zi Yi was 3rd in 2:02.94.

Masniari Wolf of Indonesia earned gold in the 50m back in 28.89, establishing a new national record in the process.

Jenjira Srisa-ard of Thailand was too quick to catch in the 50m breast, producing a time of 31.22 to clock a new national record of her own. Her time also checked in as a new Games Record as well.

Finally, the Singaporean foursome of Quah Ting Wen, Quah Jing Wen, Amanda Lim and Nur Marina Chan collectively clocked a mark of 3:44.29 to win the women’s 4x100m free relay. This particular event represented Singapore’s 1,000th gold medal over the course of all editions of the SEA Games.

Overall SEA Games Swimming Medal Table Through Day 2

Through 2 days of competition, Singapore leads the medal count with 17 in all while Vietnam and Indonesia are also among the top 3. Last year, Singapore was the decisive winner with 44 pieces of hardware while Vietnam ranked #2 with 25 and Thailand rounded out the top 3 nations with 22 swimming medals.