'Unwavering belief': The long-time coach pushing Singapore star swimmer Gan Ching Hwee to new heights

Gan Ching Hwee smashed three national records at the 2026 Asian Games, taking silver in her events. Her long-time coach Eugene Chia spoke to CNA about their journey so far.

Eugene Chia and Gan Ching Hwee at the 2026 Asian Games. (Photo: Eugene Chia)

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TOKYO: At a swim camp more than a decade ago, Eugene Chia first noticed an 11-year-old who stood out from her peers.

She was neither stronger nor faster than the other swimmers, but Gan Ching Hwee's technique was exemplary.

“I didn’t know who she was at the time,” Chia told CNA. “Her stroke was good, and it is very rare to find a swimmer with a very high elbow catch (swimming technique).”

Months later, Chia became Gan's coach - and the rest is history.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less On Friday (Sep 25), the 23-year-old concluded her Asian Games campaign with three silvers and three new national records, in the 400m, 800m and 1,500m freestyle events. Before Gan's feats, the last Singaporean woman to claim an individual Games medal in swimming was Roanne Ho , who took silver in the 50m breaststroke in 2018. Chia said he was really proud to have been part of Gan's journey so far. “In any sport, it is rare to find an athlete willing to stay with a coach for that amount of time, giving me the chance to develop her," he told CNA.

On Friday (Sep 25), the 23-year-old concluded her Asian Games campaign with three silvers and three new national records, in the 400m, 800m and 1,500m freestyle events.

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

Chia said he was really proud to have been part of Gan's journey so far.

“In any sport, it is rare to find an athlete willing to stay with a coach for that amount of time, giving me the chance to develop her," he told CNA.

"RIDICULOUSLY DISCIPLINED"

Gan started off with the shorter distances, like most young swimmers. But there was soon a realisation that perhaps, she was not quite cut out for the sprints.

“She was struggling, and when I asked her, she would tell me that whenever she sprinted with her peers, she was like third and fourth,” recalled Chia.

“A lot of our young swimmers do a lot of sprinting when they're young.

"I've always felt that just to cover the bases and really see where their ability lies, we'll be doing them a big disservice if we don't expose them to the individual medley (IM) - basically the other strokes - and also middle distance or long distance.”

For Gan, that turned out to be the right move.

“Kudos to him for actually guiding me down that path. I wouldn't be where I am without his knowledge in these types of things,” she said.

Gan Ching Hwee swimming the butterfly leg of the individual medley. (Photo: SNOC/Adrian Seetho)

At her debut SEA Games in 2017, Gan clinched a bronze in the 400IM.

Even from a young age, she was "ridiculously disciplined", said Chia. “It’s not easy to find that in many swimmers.”

To this day, the 23-year-old barely misses any training sessions, he added.

Apart from her "ability to know her pace really well", which gives her an advantage as a distance swimmer, Gan is also a fast learner, said Chia.

He recalled instructing her to make an adjustment to her flip turn during training. Gan did it once, and never went back to doing it wrong again.

However, there was not a clear indication that she would get to the level she is at today, said her coach. "We just took it step by step," he added.

Early on, he even drew up a multi-year plan to share with Gan and her parents about where she could go in her swimming career.

“We just went from there. They bought into it; they supported it," Chia said.

Gan Ching Hwee and Eugene Chia at the 2017 SEA Games. (Photo: Gan Ching Hwee)

A “ROCKY” RELATIONSHIP?

But there were bumps along the way.

Prior to the Olympic Games in Tokyo, the long-distance specialist had initially received an invitation after meeting a "B" cut time for the 1,500m freestyle, but missed out after compatriot Quah Ting Wen's appeal was successful.

“It definitely was a big blow for her because she always worked so hard for it,” said Chia.

There are also rocky periods in their relationship during the pandemic, Gan said.

"He really taught me a lot, and then as I went through my teenage years, I started to … have my own thoughts, be a bit more rebellious," she added.

"Our relationship was quite rocky over COVID-19 (pandemic) especially, because I also wasn't seeing results and I was feeling very frustrated training alone."

There were even times when she would go an entire training session without uttering a word to Chia, recalled Gan.

“Thinking back, I could have communicated a little bit better," said Chia.

"But of course, as a coach, I'm also learning. I was not an Olympic athlete, I was just a school and club swimmer. I’ve never represented Singapore before.

“All my swimmers have surpassed my own personal level of performance as a swimmer. So I have to keep learning as much as I can in order to help them.”

With the help of a sports psychologist who acted as the “bridge” between the pair, they worked things out.

“As much as I'm also advancing to the senior level, it's also his first time coaching like someone who's going to world championships or trying to make the Olympics,” said Gan.

“We gave each other enough grace there, and then worked it through eventually.”

Gan Ching Hwee and Eugene Chia at the 2024 Paris Olympics (Photo: SNOC/Kong Chong Yew)

Over the last two years, Gan has gone from strength to strength.

At her debut Olympics in 2024, the University of Indiana graduate set national records in the 800m and 1,500m. She became the first Singaporean female swimmer to do so at the meet since Tao Li (100m backstroke) in 2012.

“Of course, it was amazing. As much as it was amazing for her, it was as amazing for me,” said Chia when asked about how he felt about having his first swimmer qualify for the Olympics.

“It’s obviously a dream of mine to be at the Olympic Games. But the job was still to get her to swim well, which thankfully we did.”

There was more to come.

At the 2025 SEA Games, Gan swept the 200m, 400m, and 800m freestyle events for the third consecutive edition. Then came the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, where she reset two national marks, before her stellar Asian Games showing this month.

Gan is not the only swimmer under Chia’s charge who has done well at the Asiad.

Russel Pang posing with his bronze medal after coming in third place during the men’s 1500m freestyle final race at the 33rd SEA Games at the Sports Authority of Thailand in Bangkok on Dec 12, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)

Two 16-year-olds - Russel Pang and Victoria Lim - have also shone brightly.

“The most important thing is we set out to swim our best performances at this competition. I’m just really happy they are doing that here,” said Chia.

“To be honest, I’ve never really looked at medals or even NRs (national records). I always tell them that we execute the race the way we train, and the result will take care of itself.”

And even if the results are not good, there are always lessons to learn, he said. “I’ve always taught them the takeaway should be that we learn something and we do better the next time.”

Chia is not a coach who craves the spotlight. In fact, he has hardly done any interviews with the media over the years.

"The spotlight doesn't help me to help my swimmers," he said.

"I don't want it to be ... just because you train with such and such (coach), you should be doing well. Then it becomes pressure for them.

"We just do our work quietly, then we just make the noise when the race comes along."

Eugene Chia with his swimmers including Gan Ching Hwee (grey swim cap). (Photo: Andy Chua)

His approach to coaching is no-nonsense, so much so that Gan describes him as a "durian".

"I wanted the swimmers that come under my charge to behave and understand that in order to achieve high performance, you must live a very disciplined life," Chia said.

"Consistency is very important. So I hope and I try my best to also role model that consistency."

It is not easy being Singapore's trailblazer in the distance swims, Chia added.

"With distance swimming, you need to do a lot more work than others," he said. "A lot of times, she is the first one in, the last one out. And when people are having an off-day, she has to swim."

When asked what Gan’s ceiling might be, Chia said that a 1,500m freestyle Olympic final is not out of the question.

“It's a gruelling event and training for it is really tough. But I would say that if she can give Singapore another one, two years maybe, I think she'll be very happy,” he said.

“For the first time in her swimming career, her best time is way below the (Olympic) qualifying mark. The final, why not?”

Singapore Aquatics coach Eugene Chia at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, Sep 24, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Wallace Woon)

Shortly after speaking to reporters on Thursday, Gan gets in touch. She has more to add about her long-time coach.

“I think what makes us click so well, even despite challenging times, is firstly his belief in me, and secondly, the communication that we have continuously worked on in the past years,” she told CNA.

“The crux of our challenges usually comes from me struggling to communicate how I'm feeling on my bad days, or if I'm dealing with injury.

“But I think we have our lines of communication managed pretty well now. I feel comfortable telling him if I need a break from training on certain days, or modifying workouts to manage injury, and I feel he has also been very trusting of such decisions as a senior athlete now.”

Equally important is Chia’s belief in his charges, Gan added.

“Despite all this, he has always had unwavering belief in me, as with all his athletes, on good and bad days,” she said.

“Somehow he just brings out the best in us as people and athletes through his care and encouragement.“

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颜清慧在2026年亚运会上打破三项全国纪录，并在她参加的项目中均获得银牌。她的长期教练谢恩杰接受了亚洲新闻台（CNA）的采访，谈到了他们一路走来的历程。

尤金·谢和颜清辉出席2026年亚运会。（图片：尤金·谢）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

东京：十多年前，在一次游泳训练营中，尤金·奇亚第一次注意到一位11岁的女孩，她与同龄人截然不同。

她既不比其他游泳运动员强壮，速度也不比其他运动员快，但颜清慧的技术堪称典范。

“当时我并不知道她是谁，”Chia告诉CNA。“她的泳姿很好，而且很少有游泳运动员能做到肘部高位划水（游泳技术）。”

几个月后，Chia 成为了 Gan 的教练——剩下的故事大家都知道了。

CNA游戏 猜词游戏 逐行破解单词 流行词游戏 用给定的字母组成单词 迷你数独 小谜题，脑力挑战 迷你填字游戏 小方格，大挑战 单词搜索 尽可能多地找出单词 显示更多 显示更少 周五（9月25日），这位23岁的选手在亚运会上斩获三枚银牌，并打破三项全国纪录，分别是400米、800米和1500米自由泳项目。在甘女士取得这些成就之前，上一位获得亚运会游泳个人奖牌的新加坡女选手是何若英，她在2018年亚运会50米蛙泳比赛中获得银牌。谢教练表示，他非常自豪能够参与甘女士的成长历程。“在任何运动项目中，都很少能找到一位愿意长时间跟随教练的运动员，这让我有机会培养她，”他告诉CNA。

9 月 25 日（星期五），这位 23 岁的选手在亚运会上以 400 米、800 米和 1500 米自由泳比赛中三枚银牌和三项新的全国纪录结束了她的亚运会征程。

在甘女士取得如此佳绩之前，上一位在游泳项目中获得个人运动会奖牌的新加坡女性是何罗安，她在 2018 年获得了 50 米蛙泳银牌。

Chia表示，他非常自豪能够参与Gan迄今为止的成长历程。

“在任何运动项目中，都很少能找到愿意和教练待这么长时间的运动员，这让我有机会培养她，”他告诉CNA。

“纪律严明得令人难以置信”

甘一开始和其他大多数年轻游泳运动员一样，是从短距离项目开始的。但她很快意识到，或许自己并不适合短距离冲刺。

“她当时很吃力，我问她的时候，她告诉我，每次和同龄人一起短跑，她都只能排到第三或第四，”Chia回忆道。

“我们很多年轻游泳运动员在年轻的时候都进行大量的短距离冲刺训练。

“我一直觉得，为了全面了解他们的能力，如果我们不让他们接触个人混合泳（IM）——基本上就是其他泳姿——以及中长距离游泳，那对他们来说就太不公平了。”

对甘来说，这被证明是正确的决定。

“他真的引导我走上了这条路，我非常感谢他。如果没有他在这方面的知识，我不可能取得今天的成就，”她说。

颜清慧正在游个人混合泳蝶泳段。（图片：SNOC/Adrian Seetho）

甘在2017年首次参加东南亚运动会，并在女子400米混合泳比赛中获得铜牌。

Chia说，她从小就“自律得惊人”。“这种品质在游泳运动员中并不常见。”

他补充说，时至今日，这位23岁的球员几乎没有缺席过任何训练。

Chia表示，除了“能够很好地掌握自己的节奏”，这使她作为一名长距离游泳运动员具有优势外，甘的学习能力也很强。

他回忆起训练时曾指导她调整空翻转身的动作。甘学了一次，之后就再也没有犯过同样的错误。

然而，她的教练说，当时并没有明显的迹象表明她能达到今天的水平。“我们只是循序渐进地培养她，”他补充道。

早期，他甚至制定了一个多年计划，与甘和她的父母分享了她在游泳事业上的发展方向。

“我们就从那里开始。他们接受了这个想法，并给予了支持，”Chia说道。

甘正辉和谢尤金在 2017 年东运会上。 （照片：颜清辉）

一段“磕磕绊绊”的关系？

但一路走来并非一帆风顺。

在东京奥运会之前，这位长距离游泳专家在1500米自由泳比赛中达到了“B”标，最初获得了参赛资格，但由于同胞柯廷文的上诉成功，他错失了参赛机会。

Chia说：“这对她来说绝对是一个很大的打击，因为她为此付出了很多努力。”

甘女士表示，疫情期间他们的关系也曾出现过波折。

“他真的教会了我很多，然后随着我进入青春期，我开始……有自己的想法，变得更加叛逆，”她补充道。

“尤其是在新冠疫情期间，我们的关系非常紧张，因为我看不到任何成效，独自训练让我感到非常沮丧。”

甘回忆说，有时她甚至会在整个训练过程中一句话也不跟谢说。

“现在回想起来，我本可以沟通得更好一些，”Chia说道。

“当然，作为一名教练，我也在学习。我不是奥运选手，我只是学校和俱乐部的游泳运动员。我以前从未代表新加坡参赛。”

“我的所有游泳队员的水平都超过了我自己的水平。所以我必须不断学习，尽可能多地帮助他们。”

在一位充当两人之间“桥梁”的运动心理学家的帮助下，他们解决了问题。

“虽然我也晋升到了高级组，但对他来说，这也是他第一次像执教即将参加世界锦标赛或奥运会的选手那样执教，”甘说道。

“我们当时互相宽容，最终解决了问题。”

颜清辉和谢永健在2024年巴黎奥运会上（图片：SNOC/孔崇耀）

过去两年，甘的事业蒸蒸日上。

这位印第安纳大学的毕业生在2024年首次参加奥运会，便在800米和1500米比赛中打破了全国纪录。她成为自2012年陶莉（100米仰泳）以来，首位在奥运会上取得如此佳绩的新加坡女游泳运动员。

“当然，这太棒了。对她来说很棒，对我来说也同样棒，”当被问及对他的第一位游泳运动员获得奥运会参赛资格有何感想时，谢先生说道。

“参加奥运会显然是我的梦想。但我们的首要任务仍然是让她游出好成绩，谢天谢地，我们做到了。”

还有更多精彩内容即将到来。

在2025年东南亚运动会上，甘诗婷连续第三届包揽了200米、400米和800米自由泳冠军。随后，她在格拉斯哥英联邦运动会上刷新了两项全国纪录，并在本月的亚运会上表现出色。

甘并不是谢教练麾下唯一一位在亚运会上取得好成绩的游泳运动员。

2025年12月12日，在曼谷泰国体育局举行的第33届东南亚运动会男子1500米自由泳决赛中，拉塞尔·庞获得铜牌，图为他与铜牌合影。（图片：CNA/Jeremy Long）

两名 16 岁的球员——Russel Pang 和 Victoria Lim——也表现出色。

“最重要的是，我们这次比赛的目标是游出我们最好的成绩。我真的很高兴他们在这里做到了这一点，”Chia说道。

“说实话，我从来没太在意过奖牌或者国家纪录。我总是告诉他们，我们只要按照训练的方式去比赛，结果自然会水到渠成。”

他说，即使结果不理想，也总能从中吸取教训。“我一直教导他们，我们应该从中吸取教训，下次做得更好。”

Chia并非那种渴望成为焦点的教练。事实上，多年来他几乎没有接受过任何媒体采访。

“聚光灯对我帮助我的游泳运动员没有好处，”他说。

“我不希望出现这种情况……仅仅因为你跟某某教练训练，你就应该表现出色。那样会给他们带来压力。”

“我们默默地做好自己的工作，然后在比赛来临时发出我们的声音。”

尤金·谢和他的游泳队员们，包括戴灰色泳帽的颜清辉。（摄影：Andy Chua）

他的执教方式非常务实，以至于甘形容他像“榴莲”。

“我希望我指导的游泳运动员能够守规矩，并且明白，要想取得优异的成绩，就必须过上非常自律的生活，”Chia说道。

“持之以恒非常重要。所以我希望，并且我会尽我所能，以身作则，树立持之以恒的榜样。”

Chia补充说，作为新加坡在长距离游泳项目中的开拓者，这并不容易。

“长距离游泳需要比其他人付出更多努力，”他说。“很多时候，她是第一个下水，最后一个上岸的。而且当其他人状态不佳时，她就得顶上。”

当被问及甘的极限在哪里时，谢表示，进入奥运会1500米自由泳决赛并非不可能。

“这是一项非常艰苦的赛事，训练也十分艰苦。但我想说，如果她能再为新加坡赢得一次冠军，也许两年，我想她会非常高兴的，”他说。

“这是她游泳生涯中第一次，她的最佳成绩远低于（奥运会）达标线。决赛，为什么不呢？”

新加坡游泳队教练谢永健在2026年爱知-名古屋亚运会上，2026年9月24日。（图片：CNA/Wallace Woon）

周四接受记者采访后不久，甘女士联系了我。她还有一些关于她这位长期教练的信息要补充。

“我认为，即使在充满挑战的时期，我们依然能够如此合拍，首先是他对我的信任，其次是我们过去几年一直在努力培养的沟通能力，”她告诉亚洲新闻台。

“我们面临的挑战的关键通常在于，当我情绪低落或受伤时，我很难表达自己的感受。

“但我认为我们现在的沟通渠道运作得相当不错。我可以很放心地告诉他，如果我需要在某些日子休息一下，或者需要调整训练计划来应对伤病，而且我觉得作为一名资深运动员，他也非常信任我的这些决定。”

甘补充说，同样重要的是谢家华对他所负责的球员的信任。

“尽管如此，他对我始终抱有坚定不移的信任，就像他对其他所有运动员一样，无论顺境还是逆境，”她说。

“不知何故，他通过关心和鼓励，激发了我们作为人和运动员的最好潜能。”

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