Singapore’s Gan Ching Hwee wins historic 1,500m freestyle silver at Asian Games

Published Sep 20, 2026, 04:40 PM

Updated Sep 20, 2026, 10:47 PM

Gan Ching Hwee made history as the first Singaporean woman to win Asian Games silver in the 1,500m freestyle with a national record time of 16:00.45.

She overcame past disappointments of finishing fourth and steadily improved her times, showing resilience and strong focus ahead of upcoming events.

China dominated the swimming events, setting multiple Games records and winning six of seven golds on the first day, while Japan celebrated a home victory in the men's 200m individual medley.

TOKYO – Spurred on by previous near misses, Gan Ching Hwee put aside past disappointments to become the first Singaporean to win an Asian Games women’s 1,500m freestyle silver with a national record of 16min 0.45sec on Sept 20.

Ahead of her at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, China’s Li Bingjie retained gold in 15:53.52, while Japan’s Ichika Kajimoto took bronze in 16:06.83.

Previously, Neo Chwee Kok was the only Singaporean to win an Asiad medal over the same distance when he struck gold in the men’s 1,500m freestyle at the inaugural edition in 1951.

A beaming Gan, who received her medal from French Olympic champion Leon Marchand, said: “I couldn’t have asked for a better result. I executed the race the way I wanted to, and it (the silver) surprised me.”

The 23-year-old, who improved on her previous national record of 16:01.29 set at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships (WCH) in Singapore, is the first Singaporean female swimmer to win an Asian Games medal since Roanne Ho clinched a 50m breaststroke silver in 2018.

Her time of 8:29.56 in the first 800m is also a national record, eclipsing her previous best of 8:29.93, also set at the 2025 WCH, as she helped match the sole swimming medal Singapore won at the previous Asiad through Teong Tzen Wei’s men’s 50m butterfly silver.

Gan has been one of Singapore’s most consistent swimmers: She owns national records in the women’s 200m, 400m, 800m and 1,500m freestyle, and the 400m individual medley, and completed a rare triple-triple of wins in the women’s 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle across the 2022, 2023 and 2025 editions of the SEA Games.

But she also has her share of disappointments.

The women’s 1,500m freestyle event was introduced at the Asian Games only in 2018 in Indonesia, where Gan finished fifth (16:39.70) with her first senior national record at age 15 before she improved to fourth (16:24.67) in China in 2023, but missed out on a medal.

She then placed ninth (16:10.13) at the Paris 2024 Olympics, and seventh (16:03.51) at 2025 WCH after setting her previous national record of 16:01.29 in the heats.

As her times improved, so did expectations, and Gan was bummed about her performance at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in July when she finished fourth in 16:06.00.

She said: “Preparations for the meet went well, so I was disappointed with the result. So, I didn’t want to finish fourth any more, and I kept pushing to get this medal.

“This feels extra sweet because of all the years of hard work I’ve put in. It feels like full circle from the first national record at my first Asian Games. To better my position since then shows the progress I’ve had as a swimmer, and I’m really proud of that.”

Gold medallist China's Li Bingjie (centre) celebrates on the podium after winning the women's 1,500m freestyle final along with Singapore’s silver medallist Gan Ching Hwee (left) and Japan’s bronze medallist Ichika Kajimoto. PHOTO: REUTERS

Gold medallist China's Li Bingjie (centre) celebrates on the podium after winning the women's 1,500m freestyle final along with Singapore’s silver medallist Gan Ching Hwee (left) and Japan’s bronze medallist Ichika Kajimoto.

Her podium finish on the opening day of the Asiad swim meet has further raised expectations in her upcoming events – the women’s 400m freestyle (Sept 22), 4x200m freestyle relay (Sept 24) and 800m freestyle (Sept 25).

Showing the high standards she set for herself, Gan admitted there was “a tinge of disappointment” to not go under 16 minutes.

“Expectations always grow, and learning to manage that is always part of the process of being an athlete. Staying off social media and focusing on the now is very important,” she said.

“I used to get affected by the slightest bit of doubt that came to my mind, but now I let the thoughts come and go . It’s a very important skill to have , and when it’s ‘go’ time, I just dial in and focus.”

In the first swimming final of the Games, China’s 13-year-old prodigy Yu Zidi set a Games record when she won the women’s 200m butterfly in 2:05.08, ahead of teammate Chang Mohan (2:08.44) and Japan’s Misa Okuzono (2:09.67).

In front of a raucous and predominantly Japanese and Chinese crowd in the 12,000-capacity arena that was about three-quarters full, the teenager shaved almost half a second off compatriot Zhang Yufei’s mark of 2:05.57 set in 2023.

Still only 13, China's Yu Zidi celebrates after winning the women's 200m butterfly gold in a Games record time of 2:05.08 in her first Asiad final. PHOTO: REUTERS

Still only 13, China's Yu Zidi celebrates after winning the women's 200m butterfly gold in a Games record time of 2:05.08 in her first Asiad final.

Tickling the Chinese media with her off-the-cuff responses, she asked how a reporter knew she had said that times are more important than medals, and said: “Today’s swim was okay, I wish I was faster. I improved a bit today and I will be better next time.”

She added that her technique is “still a little poor” before being whisked away by an official, in a sign of how keen her team are to protect her.

China, who captured 28 out of 41 swimming golds at the last Games, once again displayed their dominance by winning six out of seven golds on offer on the first day of the swimming competition.

Men’s 100m freestyle world record holder Pan Zhanle just about held on to his Asiad title when he touched the wall first in 47.61sec, just ahead of South Korean duo Kim Young-beom (47.65) and Hwang Sun-woo (47.79).

Singapore’s Jonathan Tan (50.21) and Mikkel Lee (52.06) , who was second at the turn, finished ninth and 10th respectively.

China’s Tang Qianting also retained her women’s 50m breaststroke gold with a Games record of 29.45sec, ahead of Japan’s Satomi Suzuki (29.91) , who made the podium at a fifth consecutive Asiad, and another Chinese swimmer Yang Chang (30.24). Singapore’s Mikayla Tan was seventh (31.76).

Tang’s compatriot Xu Jiayu retained his men’s 100m backstroke gold with a Games record of 51.98, with Japan’s Hidekazu Takehara (53.93) second and Lee Ju-ho (53.94) of South Korea third.

There was a fourth Games record for the mighty Chinese who won the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay in 3:33.10, in front of Hong Kong (3:36.59) and Japan (3:39.09). Singapore were sixth in 3:51.62.

The home crowd did have a victory to celebrate in a thrilling men’s 200m individual medley final when Japan’s lone Paris 2024 swimming medallist Tomoyuki Matsushita pipped teammate Yumeki Kojima by 0.06sec to win in 1:55.30.

China’s Wang Shun, the last edition’s champion, was third in 1:57.14, while Singapore’s Reagan Cheng, who improved his personal best from 2:02.11 to 2:01.25 in the morning heats, finished 10th in 2:02.65.

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David Lee is senior sports correspondent at The Straits Times, focusing on aquatics, badminton, basketball, cue sports, football and table tennis.

发布于2026年9月20日下午4:40

更新于2026年9月20日晚上10:47

颜清慧创造了历史，成为第一位在亚运会女子1500米自由泳比赛中获得银牌的新加坡女性，成绩为16分00秒45，并打破了新加坡国家纪录。

她克服了过去获得第四名的失望，稳步提高了自己的成绩，展现了韧性和对即将到来的比赛的高度专注。

中国队在游泳项目中占据绝对优势，打破多项赛会纪录，并在第一天就赢得了七枚金牌中的六枚；而日本队则在男子200米个人混合泳比赛中取得了主场胜利。

东京——在之前几次与冠军失之交臂的激励下，颜清慧抛开过去的失望，于9月20日以16分0.45秒的成绩打破全国纪录，成为首位获得亚运会女子1500米自由泳银牌的新加坡选手。

在东京水上运动中心，中国选手李冰洁以 15:53.52 的成绩卫冕金牌，而日本选手梶本市花以 16:06.83 的成绩获得铜牌。

此前，梁瑞国是唯一一位在亚运会同一距离上获得奖牌的新加坡人，他在 1951 年首届亚运会上获得了男子 1500 米自由泳金牌。

笑容满面的甘胜珠从法国奥运冠军莱昂·马尔尚手中接过奖牌后说道：“我不能要求更好的结果了。我按照自己的意愿完成了比赛，获得银牌让我感到意外。”

这位 23 岁的选手打破了她在 2025 年新加坡世界游泳锦标赛 (WCH) 上创造的 16:01.29 的全国纪录，成为自 2018 年何泓轸获得 50 米蛙泳银牌以来，第一位获得亚运会奖牌的新加坡女游泳运动员。

她在第一个 800 米比赛中的成绩为 8 分 29 秒 56，也创造了新的全国纪录，打破了她之前在 2025 年世界游泳锦标赛上创造的 8 分 29 秒 93 的最佳成绩。她帮助新加坡追平了上届亚运会上唯一一枚游泳奖牌的纪录，该奖牌由郑振伟在男子 50 米蝶泳比赛中获得银牌。

颜是新加坡最稳定的游泳运动员之一：她保持着女子200米、400米、800米和1500米自由泳以及400米个人混合泳的全国纪录，并在2022年、2023年和2025年东南亚运动会上罕见地包揽了女子200米、400米和800米自由泳的三连冠。

但她也有过不少失望的经历。

女子1500米自由泳项目于2018年在印度尼西亚亚运会上首次设立，甘在15岁时获得第五名（16:39.70），并创造了她的第一个成年组全国纪录。之后，她在2023年中国亚运会上将成绩提高到第四名（16:24.67），但未能获得奖牌。

随后，她在 2024 年巴黎奥运会上获得第九名（16:10.13），并在 2025 年世界田径锦标赛上获得第七名（16:03.51），此前她在预赛中创造了 16:01.29 的全国纪录。

随着成绩的提高，人们对她的期望也越来越高。甘在7月份的2026年英联邦运动会上以16分06秒的成绩获得第四名，这让她感到很沮丧。

她说：“赛前准备很顺利，所以我对结果很失望。我不想再只拿第四名了，所以我一直努力争取这枚奖牌。”

“这感觉格外甜蜜，因为我付出了多年的努力。这感觉就像一个圆满的轮回，从我第一次参加亚运会并打破全国纪录开始，到现在不断进步。这证明了我作为一名游泳运动员所取得的进步，我为此感到非常自豪。”

中国选手李冰洁（中）在女子1500米自由泳决赛中夺得金牌后，与获得银牌的新加坡选手颜清慧（左）和获得铜牌的日本选手梶本市花一同登上领奖台庆祝。图片：路透社

中国选手李冰洁（中）在女子1500米自由泳决赛中夺得金牌后，与新加坡选手颜清慧（左）和日本选手梶本市花（右）一起在领奖台上庆祝。

她在亚运会游泳比赛首日登上领奖台，进一步提高了人们对她接下来比赛的期望——女子 400 米自由泳（9 月 22 日）、4x200 米自由泳接力（9 月 24 日）和 800 米自由泳（9 月 25 日）。

甘坦言，没能跑进 16 分钟以内，这体现了她对自己的高标准要求。

“期望总是不断提高，学会应对这些期望是运动员成长过程中不可或缺的一部分。远离社交媒体，专注于当下非常重要，”她说道。

“我以前很容易受到脑海中一丝疑虑的影响，但现在我会让这些念头来来去去。这是一项非常重要的技能，当真正需要行动的时候，我只需集中精力，全神贯注。”

在奥运会首场游泳决赛中，中国13岁的游泳神童于子迪以2分05秒08的成绩赢得女子200米蝶泳冠军，打破了奥运会纪录，领先于队友张默涵（2分08秒44）和日本选手奥园美沙（2分09秒67）。

在可容纳 12000 人的体育馆内，观众以日本人和中国人为主，气氛热烈，上座率约为四分之三。这位少年将同胞张宇飞在 2023 年创下的 2 分 05 秒 57 的纪录缩短了近半秒。

年仅13岁的中国选手于梓迪在首次参加亚运会决赛中，以2分05秒08的成绩打破女子200米蝶泳赛会纪录，夺得金牌后庆祝胜利。图片：路透社

年仅 13 岁的中国选手于梓迪在首次参加亚运会决赛中，以 2 分 05 秒 08 的成绩打破赛会纪录，赢得女子 200 米蝶泳金牌后庆祝胜利。

她即兴的回答逗乐了中国媒体，她问记者是如何知道她说过时间比奖牌更重要的，然后说：“今天的游泳还不错，我希望自己能更快一些。今天我进步了一些，下次会更好。”

她补充说，她的技术“还有点差”，然后就被一名官员迅速带走了，这表明她的团队多么热衷于保护她。

中国队在上届奥运会游泳比赛中获得了 41 枚金牌中的 28 枚，在游泳比赛首日，他们再次展现了统治力，赢得了 7 枚金牌中的 6 枚。

男子100米自由泳世界纪录保持者潘占乐以47.61秒的成绩率先触壁，险胜韩国组合金永范（47.65秒）和黄善宇（47.79秒），保住了他的亚运会冠军头衔。

新加坡选手 Jonathan Tan（50.21）和转场时排名第二的 Mikkel Lee（52.06）分别获得第九名和第十名。

中国选手唐倩婷以29.45秒的成绩卫冕女子50米蛙泳金牌，并打破了赛会纪录。日本选手铃木聪美（29.91秒）获得亚军，这是她连续第五次登上亚军领奖台。另一位中国选手杨畅（30.24秒）获得季军。新加坡选手陈美琪（31.76秒）获得第七名。

唐的同胞徐嘉宇以51.98秒的成绩卫冕男子100米仰泳金牌，并打破了赛会纪录；日本选手竹原秀和（53.93秒）获得第二名；韩国选手李柱昊（53.94秒）获得第三名。

中国队在女子4x100米自由泳接力赛中以3分33秒10的成绩夺冠，打破了第四项赛会纪录，领先于香港队（3分36秒59）和日本队（3分39秒09）。新加坡队以3分51秒62的成绩位列第六。

在激动人心的男子 200 米个人混合泳决赛中，日本唯一的巴黎 2024 游泳奖牌获得者松下智之以 0.06 秒的优势险胜​​队友小岛梦树，以 1 分 55 秒 30 的成绩夺冠，主场观众也因此欢欣鼓舞。

上届冠军中国选手王顺以 1:57.14 的成绩获得第三名，而新加坡选手郑瑞根在上午的预赛中将个人最佳成绩从 2:02.11 提高到 2:01.25，最终以 2:02.65 的成绩获得第十名。

通过《海峡时报》的每周新闻简报，深入了解新加坡的所有体育赛事和趋势。

David Lee 是《海峡时报》的高级体育记者，主要报道水上运动、羽毛球、篮球、台球、足球和乒乓球。