Gan Ching Hwee breaks a 17-year-old meet record in the Women's 200m Freestyle while Boonamphai Saowanee dominates with a breaststroke win and a backstroke meet record on a landmark night at the 21st SNSC 2026.
The evening session of Day 2 at the 21st Singapore National Swimming Championships delivered drama in spades, headlined by a stunning meet record in the Women's 200m Freestyle and a dominant double from Thailand's Saowanee Boonamphai that had the crowd on their feet.
Gan Ching Hwee Rewrites History
The night's standout moment came in Event 204, the Women's 200m Freestyle, where Singapore Swimming Club's Gan Ching Hwee obliterated a record that had stood for 17 years. Touching the wall in 1:59.44, she broke Quah Ting Wen's legendary 2:00.14 set back in 2009 — a benchmark that had survived more than a decade of championship competition. Gan's effort was composed and controlled, splitting evenly across all four laps to run through the two-minute barrier with authority. Singha Swimming Club's Maria Nedelko (2:02.95) and AquaTech's Christina Schulz (2:04.47) rounded out the podium.
Boonamphai: A Session to Remember
Thailand's Saowanee Boonamphai turned in a remarkable evening, winning both the Women's 100m Breaststroke and breaking the meet record in the Women's 50m Backstroke. In Event 202, she topped the breaststroke final in 1:10.90, with Korea's Lim Yeeun (1:11.53) and Singapore's Tay Elle of Aquatic Performance Swim Club (1:12.61) completing the podium. Then in Event 206, Boonamphai clocked a blazing 28.96 in the 50m Backstroke — smashing Levenia Sim's record of 29.10 set just last year. Singha teammate Naphak Saiyawong (29.99) and AquaTech's Ng Yeok Han (30.21) took silver and bronze respectively.
Men's Breaststroke: AquaTech's Chan Holds Off Korean Challengers
AquaTech's Chan Jun Hao delivered a gutsy performance to win the Men's 100m Breaststroke in 1:01.82, fending off two strong Korean challengers from Hwaseong City — Raeyu Jeong (1:02.08) and Yunsung Hong (1:02.86). Chan had gone 1:01.20 in the prelims and, while the meet record of 1:00.95 he himself set in 2024 remained intact, his composure under pressure in the final underlined his class. Chiam Cohen (1:03.72) was the top local finisher outside the medals.
Aquarian's One-Two in Men's 200m Freestyle
Aquarian Aquatic School produced one of the session's great team moments when Azman Ardi and Yap Yan Xi Brandon swept the top two spots in the Men's 200m Freestyle. Azman took gold in 1:50.19 with a strong negative split, while Brandon followed in 1:51.32. Aquatic Masters' Jerald Lium was just a touch behind in 1:51.36 to claim bronze — one of the tightest medal finishes of the night.
Men's Backstroke: Quah Zheng Wen at 30, Still Competing at the Top
The Men's 50m Backstroke offered a moment of pure nostalgia. Korea's Song Imgyu claimed gold in a blistering 25.36, fractionally faster than the meet record of 25.38 set by none other than Quah Zheng Wen himself — back in 2017. Quah, now 30, finished fourth in 26.09, still competitive at the elite level years after setting the standard. India's Srihari Nataraj (25.49) took silver, and Chinese Swimming Club's Chan Tedd Windsor (25.84) earned bronze.
IM Events: Reagan Cheng and Victoria Lim Take Charge
In the Men's 400m Individual Medley, Chinese Swimming Club's Cheng Reagan swam a composed final to take gold in 4:26.91, well ahead of Pacific Swimming Club's Dylan Wu (4:42.81) and Singapore Swimming Club's Julian Ko (4:46.22). The meet record of 4:23.94 by Sheng Jun Pang remained out of reach.
The Women's 400m IM was an absorbing two-way battle at the front. Singapore Swimming Club's Lim Yiyan Victoria and Swim Alliance's Julia Yeo Shu Ning were virtually inseparable at the touch, with Victoria edging it 5:00.86 to 5:01.61. Korea's Kim Minyoung (5:04.26) took bronze for Hwaseong City.
Relays: Korea and Thailand Show Strength
The evening closed with back-to-back relays. In the Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay, Hwaseong City's Korean quartet ran out convincing winners in 3:25.65, with Chinese Swimming Club S'Pore (3:26.35) and AquaTech Swimming (3:30.88) taking silver and bronze respectively. It was a notable result given AquaTech hold the meet record of 3:21.49 — the Koreans showed they mean business.
In the Women's equivalent, Singha Swimming Club Thailand made a strong statement, winning in 3:53.83. Selangor, Malaysia (3:58.44) edged AquaTech Swimming (3:58.69) for silver in a sprint finish, with the top three all finishing within five seconds of each other.
The 21st SNSC 2026 continues through 30 May at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.