'I try not to be distracted': Gan Ching Hwee focused on swimming her best at Olympics despite selection saga
by Justin Ong Guang-Xi · CNA · JoinSINGAPORE: Despite recent chatter about Gan Ching Hwee's 11th-hour qualification for the Olympic Games, her eyes remain firmly on the prize.
“As an athlete, I try not to be distracted at this point in time and just really focus on my preparation and focus on the Games,” the national swimmer told reporters on Wednesday (Jul 10).
The 20-year-old spoke publicly for the first time since the selection issue emerged as a point of contention when her name was on a list of Singapore athletes bound for Paris. Fellow swimmer Quah Ting Wen, who was expected to participate in her fourth Olympics, was not included.
Quah has since given several media interviews to express her confusion and frustration over the matter.
Three years ago, Gan was on the wrong end of an uncannily similar situation. She was initially picked to swim in the Tokyo Olympics but was later withdrawn from the team when another swimmer lodged an appeal. That swimmer was Quah.
“Back then, it was a lot to process in a very short period of time, and at that point I was still having to go to school, having to prepare for the IB (International Baccalaureate) exams,” said Gan.
“I had to switch my focus really fast and try to move on from that, and pick myself up for qualifications this time round.”
Despite the noise around her selection, Gan credited the people around her for keeping her focused.
“I think my coaches during training have really been keeping me in check, reminding me that I should channel my focus on the games and just doing my best, and hopefully achieving a best time there,” she said.
Gan was speaking on the sidelines of a sponsorship signing ceremony between Singapore Aquatics (SAQ) and Mazda Singapore.
Also present at the event were national swimmers and siblings Letitia and Levenia Sim, who will be part of the relay team heading to Paris.
When asked about how Quah’s exclusion would affect the preparations of the relay team, Letitia, 21, said: “I don’t think there’s much effect. We are both still really excited to just go and represent. This is our first time and there's not much to expect, and just take it one step at a time.”
With a new member in the relay, will the approach change? No, says Letitia.
“I’m just trying to do the best that I can to help the team as best as possible, because I can only do so much to race my breaststroke leg of the relay.”
Gan agreed and said despite the 100m freestyle not being her pet event, she would put her best foot forward.
“For the relay, I’m just going to give my best, and I have confidence that my preparation will put me in the best spot,” said Gan, who will also swim the longer 800m and 1,500m freestyle events for her individual races in Paris.
“It’s an honour and privilege to be representing Singapore at the Games this year. I’ll definitely do my best for my team, Singapore, and everyone who has supported me so far.”
As for why she had yet to go public with her feelings about making the Olympic team until now, she said it was simply not her style.
“I would say I’m not the type of person that’s really good with social media … so that’s not my first outlet (where) I would post my achievements. That’s the way I operate in general.”
When asked if Quah had reached out to her since she was selected, Gan said: “No, she has not.”
Why is Singapore sending Gan instead of Quah to Paris?
Quah, along with Levenia Sim, Letitia Sim and sister Quah Jing Wen, had earlier this year led Singapore to a historic Olympic qualification for a relay spot.
The quartet did this by swimming to a 9th-place finish at the world championships in Doha in February.
However, to send a relay team to Paris, the team had to meet the World Aquatics requirement of having a maximum of two relay-only swimmers.
At the time, of the four swimmers, only Letitia had met the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), or "A" cut, 100m breaststroke, giving her a direct path to Paris.
This left Singapore with three relay-only swimmers - the Quah sisters and Levenia - one over the limit.
World Aquatics had then granted Singapore one extra relay-only slot on an “exceptional basis”.
However, World Aquatics later offered Gan an invitation to participate in the women’s 1,500m freestyle based on her Olympic Consideration Time (OCT) – or “B” cut – of 16:10.61 clocked in June.
An OCT, on the other hand, is a time set by the swimming governing body that is slightly slower than the OQT. Swimmers who achieve the OCT may still be considered for Olympic selection, but it is not guaranteed.
This meant that the privilege of the extra relay-only slot was no longer in force when Gan accepted the invitation, said SAQ in a statement.
Singapore now had two athletes who qualified for the Olympics with qualification timings, and so it no longer had a third relay-only slot.
SAQ said that it had decided to send Gan to the Olympics based on selection criteria that had been in force since June 2023.
Based on SAQ’s criteria, the selection of individual athletes for the Paris Games is first based on swimmers who made the OQT (Letitia), then for athletes who made the OCT and received an invitation from World Aquatics (Gan).
For relay swimmers, the first criteria would be to meet the qualification marks.
Thus, through this criteria, Gan was chosen instead of the elder Quah.
Quah then lodged an appeal with SAQ, but it was rejected.
In turn, SAQ appealed to World Aquatics to reinstate the extra relay-only slot so both Gan and Quah could participate in Paris. It was informed on Monday that the appeal was unsuccessful.
OLYMPIC BERTHS ONLY CONFIRMED WHEN ATHLETES ARE ON THE PLANE
Speaking to the media at the event, executives from SAQ addressed statements made by Quah in previous interviews that she was made to sign a document indicating she was heading to Paris, before that invitation was rescinded.
SAQ secretary-general Kenneth Goh said that when athletes sign such documents, it indicates that they will probably be on the final team that goes to the major Games. But this remains provisional.
“Is it 100 per cent guaranteed and assured? As an athlete, you know it is a strong chance, and you have to prepare for it. But there still is a chance that it may not happen,” said Associate Professor Goh.
In Quah’s case, the process of allocating Olympic spots was not completed when she signed the document.
“It was stated very clearly in the selection policy timeline that on Jul 5 (a day after Quah signed the documents) there will still be ‘B’ cut invitations going out,” he said.
“So yeah, did expectations go up? Yes. Did we know it was 100 per cent certain? We did not know. We knew there was a level of uncertainty around it.”
Agreeing, SAQ technical director for swimming Sonya Michelle Porter said that athletes are made aware that documents indicating their interest to compete at the Games are conditional.
“When we originally ask them for an intent to swim, we let them know - and it is written on there - that it’s conditional from World Aquatics, that they’re granting those positions,” said Ms Porter.
“From our perspective, at that point in time and the conditions around that, it seems like that is the end point and then further news comes. Sometimes circumstances come at the worst times, and in this situation, it was always going to be one individual that was going to get the worst news.”
Agreeing with this process, national swimmer Teong Tzen Wei said that he does not consider himself a part of a team headed for a major competition until he sets foot on the plane.
“Until the day that you fly, everything is conditional. It’s never set in stone,” said the 27-year-old.
He said that even with an ‘A’ cut, athletes may get injured or be embroiled in bad publicity, which can result in them pulling out.
“I think as a human, we just need to be resilient and understand that nothing is set in stone, and we just need to accept whatever comes our way.”
Teong, a silver medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, had also been vying for an Olympic spot, but said he had been set back by injury.
Speaking about the selection controversy between Quah and Gan, he felt there was no ill intent all round.
“Where there may have been some sad feelings, at the end of the day, I believe that no one is a victim; no one is out to get anyone,” he said.
“In the end the organisation (SAQ) as a whole has our best intentions at heart, I’m sure they are going to be thinking for the next Olympics on how they can really make (the selection process) airtight.”
Sign up for our newsletters
Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app