The 56th Singapore National Age Group Swimming Championships (Seniors) concluded today after six days of competition at the OCBC Aquatic Centre. Fifteen-year-old Julia Yeo emerged as the best Singaporean female swimmer in the 15–17 age group, earning the meet’s Most Valuable Swimmer award in that age group. Julia impressed with her performance in the pool this week with two titles, including a new national record in the 200m Backstroke; she won the event with a time of 2:15.03, lowering her previous record set at the Southeast Asian Games in December. Her other win came in the 50m Backstroke with a winning time of 29.86.

Julia said: “I am satisfied with my performance because I hit my personal bests. This award came as a surprise for me, and I was not expecting it. My next goal would be to qualify for the Asian Games and hopefully break more personal bests.”

The Most Valuable Swimmer (male) in the 15–17 age group went to Singapore Swimming Club’s Russel Pang. Russel and his teammates, Chua Qi Yao Avel, Lam Matthew Jaedan and Low Ka Wai, set the tone early in the championships with a sensational performance in the 4 x 200m Freestyle relay. Their winning time of 7:45.74 erased the Boys U17 record that had stood since 2015.

Russel was pleased to share the moment with his teammates: “I’d like to thank my teammates for always trying their best, especially where it matters most. This meet has been pretty good for me – I hit some personal bests and gave my all. Hopefully with all the training that I’ve done, I will continue to do well and qualify for the Asian Games.”

National swimmer Gan Ching Hwee reinforced her dominance in the mid to long distance events, claiming crowns in the 200m, 400m and 800m Freestyle events. A further title as well as a national record came from the 400m Individual Medley – Ching Hwee’s winning time of 4:46.06 shaved more than one second off her previous record (4:47.60) set in February. 

This year’s competition saw over 2,000 participants from Singapore and the region take part in the annual event. Most Valuable Swimmer awards were also presented in the 13–14 age group, with Ng Yeok Han (female) and Dylan Wu (male) receiving the awards. Chinese Swimming Club was crowned the Overall Club Champion. The Singapore National Age Group Swimming Championships (Seniors) is one of the sanctioned competitions available across the season for swimmers to compete in national-level meets. The Singapore National Swimming Championships (SNSC) in May, presents the next opportunity for swimmers to qualify for this year’s major meets such as the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. 

Photo Credit: Singapore Aquatics

The full list of results from the championships can be found here.