Teong Tzen Wei was fifth in the men's 50m butterfly at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games. Photo: SpexSG/ Andy Chua
Even as Singapore’s sprint swimmers grappled with disappointment after their races on 24 Sep, there was steely resolve, gratitude and a tinge of pride underneath the hurt of finishing off the Asian Games podium.
Amanda Lim, who qualified third in the women’s 50m freestyle heats, was fifth in the final in 24.79sec – just 0.02s off her national record of 24.77s. Fellow Singaporean Yeo Chiok Sze was seventh in 25.24s. China’s Wu Qingfeng took gold in a Games record of 23.98. Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong was second in 24.32s and Cheng Yujie of China took bronze with 24.46s.
In the men’s 50m butterfly, Hangzhou 2022 silver medallist Teong Tzen Wei was fifth in 23.38s and Mikkel Lee was sixth in 23.40s at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. Mikhail Arkhangelskiy of Bahrain won the final in 22.91s, ahead of Japanese Shoon Mitsunaga (23.06s) and China’s Wang Changhao (23.25s).
The 28-year-old Teong, who swam 23.78s in the morning, did not disguise his frustration, saying: “We’re here to go and perform and try to aim for a medal. It just sucks … you work your a** off, you don’t get what you want. But that’s just how sport is. You have to accept that this is the game that we play. What you choose to do after this is: do you continue, or do you learn from your mistakes? What do you want to do with it? And I think for me, I just want to look forward to the next season. Big blow, but the time was way better than this morning, so I gave it my best.”
He will now turn his attention to the short course season, starting with the three-stop World Aquatics Swimming World Cup next month followed by the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) at the end of the year.
Teong added: “Today, for everyone who didn’t perform to their expectation, it may feel like the world has just ended. But the truth is you still have people who love you, you still have friends. Just move on, try to go better for the next one. And even if it doesn’t work out, still the world just keeps moving on. I think sometimes just airing out the feeling and being real with yourself is the best way to move forward.”
Teammate Lee, who was dealing with an ongoing ear infection, felt it was a “big opportunity wasted” as the medal-winning times had been within his reach. Ahead of the Asian Games, he was ranked third in Asia with his 23.19s effort from the Bergen Swim Festival in Norway.
“I actually had a good lead up to this meet; I was swimming well after the Commonwealth Games, went back to the US and training was going well. I’m disappointed with the way I executed the races but, you know, that’s sport,” said the Indiana University student, who will fly back for his examinations after the Games. “I have to give credit to the people in my team that put me back together despite all these things that were happening this week.”
For the 33-year-old Lim, competing in her only event of these Games took on added poignancy, as the race took place on the one-year anniversary of her father’s passing. She said: “Today, I think I was very nervous. My mind was switching from racing and, honestly, my father. Even when I was napping, I closed my eyes and that’s all I could see … I hope that he is happy.”
Lim, whose heats time was 24.92s, added: “I came here for something better, but still being able to be within 0.02s of my personal best time, I’m pretty proud of that. I had two solid swims in a day. I am pretty happy with my prep and wanted something more, but didn’t get it. That just shows how (high) the women’s 50m freestyle Asian standard is; we have a sub-24 tonight. Even though position-wise, it’s one (lower) than the last Asian Games, I think in terms of time it is pretty good.”
Her national record of 24.77s was achieved at the Singapore National Swimming Championships in May, and Lim, who has seven SEA Games golds in the 50m freestyle, believes she has more to give.
“I’m getting faster. I know it’s weird; that’s weird to me too. But I think that comes with being happy with where I am in life, having the support from my employers, coaches and support team,” said Lim, a senior consultant at Ernst & Young.
Earlier in the day, Russel Pang posted 8:07.50 to place 12th in the men’s 800m freestyle time final. Nicholas Tan swam a personal best 8:19.36 to rank 17th. Singapore also featured in the relays on 24 Sep. Lee returned to the pool with Ardi Azman, Glen Lim and Jonathan Tan for the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay, and the quartet were fourth in 3:16.93. Gan Ching Hwee, Victoria Lim, Christina Schulz and Chan Zi Yi were fifth in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay in 8:15.07.
The swimming event at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games concludes on 25 Sep.
The 20th Asian Games are held in Japan from 19 September to 4 October 2026. For the latest Team Singapore coverage and news, follow Team Singapore on their social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) or visit the official Team Singapore website.