Record Olympic Medal Haul For Team Singapore

Record Olympic Medal Haul For Team Singapore

Paddler Feng Tianwei Ends Singapore’s 52-year Wait for Individual Medal

London, 11 August 2012 - It was a dream Olympics for Team Singapore at London 2012 - the Games that will go down in local sporting history as the year Singapore doubled its Olympic medal count, bringing home two bronze medals in table tennis to add to our silver medals from Beijing in 2008 and Rome in 1960.

2. Chef de Mission for Team Singapore to the London 2012 Olympics, Mrs Jessie Phua, said, “Our athletes have outdone themselves at these Games. My warmest congratulations to all of them, especially to our table tennis athletes who have brought glory to Singapore and to all who have set new records and raised the bar higher by clocking their personal bests.”

3. “The dedication and fighting spirit that our athletes have shown has been an inspiration for all of us. Team Singapore has done us proud here at the world’s greatest sporting stage,” added Mrs Phua. We have shown the world what Singapore is capable of.”

Sporting Heroes

4. Singapore’s position as a credible force in table tennis was cemented by the impressive performances of our paddlers in London. 25-year-old table tennis star Feng Tianwei captured the nation’s attention when she took just 25 minutes to defeat Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa in the women’s table tennis singles bronze medal match, clinching Singapore’s first ever Olympic bronze medal and our first individual medal in 52 years.

5. Singapore continued to shine in the table tennis tournament when the women’s team of Feng Tianwei, Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu took home the women’s team bronze medal in a commanding 3-0 victory over Korea. The table tennis haul of two medals makes this Team Singapore’s best ever showing at the Olympic Games. With that flawless performance, Feng Tianwei goes down in history books as the most bemedalled Singaporean at the Olympics with three medals to her name.

6. The men’s table tennis team of Gao Ning, Yang Zi and Zhan Jian also did Singapore proud by achieving their target of a quarterfinal finish, where they were defeated by eventual winners China. This is the furthest that Singapore’s men’s table tennis team has ever progressed in the Olympics.

7. Asia’s swim queen Tao Li made a splash in the pool when she smashed her own national record in the women’s 100m backstroke and came in 10th overall in her pet event, the women’s 100m butterfly, where she clocked her best time since Beijing 2008.

Making Their Mark

8. With more than half of the contingent making their Olympic debut, these first time Olympians took on the challenge with pride and delivered excellent performances. This was also the first time Singapore was represented in gymnastics, canoeing and women’s weightlifting at the Olympics.

9. Gymnast Lim Heem Wei, who has been an inspiration to many youth in Singapore, recorded a new personal best score. A personal best was also recorded by sprinter Gary Yeo in the 100m sprint event.

10. Sailor Colin Cheng did Singapore proud when he came in 15th overall in the Men’s Laser Standard. He posted the best finish ever by a Singapore sailor at the Olympics, and became the most successful Asian athlete in the Men’s Laser event since its inception at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Despite setbacks, swimming sensation 17-year-old Joseph Schooling showed maturity beyond his tender years by picking himself up quickly and put up a credible performance, proving that he will be the name to watch come 2016.

11. “For some of our Team Singapore athletes, this has also been a groundbreaking and memorable Olympic Games as they blaze a trail for others by being the first to represent Singapore in their sport at the Olympics,” said Mrs Phua. “We are very proud of these athletes and what they have achieved, and we hope to see greater participation in these sports in future Olympics.”

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Annex A: Team Singapore Performance at London 2012

For media enquiries, please contact:
In Singapore:
Lin Kuek
Hill+Knowlton Strategies
Email: lin.kuek@hkstrategies.com

Patricia Yee
Executive
Media Relations
Singapore Sports Council
Email: patricia_yee@ssc.gov.sg

In London:
Antony Lee
Singapore National Olympic Council
Email: antonylee@snoc.org.sg

About Team Singapore
On 20 April 2001, the current President and then-Deputy Prime Minister Dr Tony Tan united Singapore’s top athletes, coaches and officials under one banner as Team Singapore. The Team has ever since flown the Singapore flag proudly at major multi-sport Games and international competitions.

The three core attributes of Pride, Performance and Perseverance anchor that which is collectively Team Singapore. Underscoring the traits of a winning team, these attributes are the important elements of sportsmanship and excellence that propel the nation forward to succeed on the world’s sporting stage.

Team Singapore inspires our nation’s athletic talents to continually evolve the level of elite sports in Singapore, while galvanising and connecting the community in support of their sporting endeavours.

For further information on Team Singapore, please visit www.teamsingapore.sg
Follow Team Singapore’s action on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/TeamSG

About the Singapore National Olympic Council
The Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) is the national nonprofit organisation that coordinates the selection of Singaporean athletes for competition at the major games such as the Olympics, the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games and the South East Asian Games. Singapore’s involvement in the Games is resolutely anchored in the Olympic ideals that were first espoused by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, in 1894. For more information on Singapore’s expression of the Olympic Spirit, please visit www.snoc.org.sg.

About the Singapore Sports Council
The Singapore Sports Council aims to transform the nation through sport, by inspiring people and uniting communities. As the national sports agency, we work with a vast network of public-private-and people sector partners to create access, opportunities and capabilities for individuals to live better through sports. As detailed in the Vision 2030 Live Better Through Sport recommendations, our mandate goes beyond driving participation and winning medals. At SSC, we use sport to create resilient, tenacious people, an appreciation for teamwork, a commitment to purpose, strong united communities and national pride.

To find out more, visit our websites www.sportsingapore.gov.sg and Vision2030.sg
Follow us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/singaporesports and Facebook at: www.facebook.com/livebetterthroughsport
For a range of photographs, search for “Singapore Sports Council” on www.flickr.com/photos/ssc-sportsphotography (www.flickr.com/photos/ssc-sportsphotography)