TURN OF THE TIDE

Ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Quah siblings of Singapore's national swim team open up about the heartaches and sacrifices behind their quest for gold as well as their plans for a future outside the pool

- Nafeesa Saini

Contrary to what many may think, the Quah siblings did not inherit their swimming prowess from their parents. Their mother played basketball and their father, volleyball, with both engaging in the respective sport only at school level. It is remarkable then that all three of their children have become national champions and Olympians.

It was Ting Wen, the eldest of the siblings, who first embarked on a swim journey. The three‑time Olympian, who will be making her fourth appearance at the world’s foremost sports competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics set to take place this July 26 to August 11, used to spend weekends as a child lounging in the pool at the Kent Ridge Guild House run by the National University of Singapore Society, a graduate club to which her parents belong. “At some point,” shares the 31‑year‑old, “my parents put me in the water safety course. When they asked if I’d like to learn the four basic swimming strokes, I said yes so I could spend more time in the water.” At the tender age of eight, she began competing in junior races.

Middle sibling Zheng Wen’s induction into swimming, meanwhile, happened more by circumstance than by design. Says the 27‑year‑old: “Since Ting was at the pool every day then, my mum had to be there too. I was quite young at that point and couldn’t be left alone, so I was often at the pool as well. It made sense for me to swim too.”

For Jing Wen, the baby of the three, it was a natural enthusiasm for the sport that led her to the pool. As the 23‑year‑old tells it, “from the get‑go, my dad noticed my love of swimming and my comfort in the water”. She jokingly adds that “with both my siblings already swimming, it was almost like I had no choice”.