Singaporean Records, Finals Spot ‘Means World’ to Ching Hwee Gan
The pressure of a home-county games has, through two days, fit magnificently for Ching Hwee Gan.
At the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in her native Singapore, Ching has set two national records and added a spot in the final of the women’s 1,500 freestyle, all in front of family and friends in what has begun like a dream for the 22-year-old.
“It means the world to me,” Gan said Monday, even before finding out she’d made the final eight of the women’s 1,500 from the penultimate heat. “Swimming in front of my friends and my family, I don’t think that many people I know have watched me live before. And I just wanted to do my best and celebrate the wins that come along and thank them for their support.”
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Gan, who recently graduated from Indiana University, has had two memorable days. On Sunday, she finished 13th in prelims of the 400 free with a time of 4:09.81. That erased Lynette Lim’s national record of 4:11.24, set at the 2009 Southeast Asian Games.
She was ecstatic at that, and it only got better. On Monday, Gan finished third in the first circle-seeded heat of the 1,500 with a time of 16:01.29. However the second heat shook out, the time was an improvement of nearly nine seconds over the national record she turned in at the Paris Olympics (16:10.13).
“It felt great,” Gan said. “It also felt quite painful towards the end. But I was really focused during this race, regardless of the field. In the middle of the race, I did feel a little bit of pressure because they starting to pull away. But ultimately, I think my training has been very sufficient leading up to this competition, and I’m really happy with it.”
When the final heat came in with only Katie Ledecky beating Gan – and two of the Olympic medalists from a race in which she finished ninth last year being behind her – it guaranteed a second swim.
Gan performed well at the Olympics last year, one of two Singaporean women to compete. She was ninth in the 1,500 and 11th in the 800 free, setting national records in both. She owns the 400, 800 and 1,500 marks, and she’s getting fast beyond her college days in Bloomington.
She spent the summer back home in Singapore. Part of the message was to embrace her possibilities. And part of moving forward from the national record is to believe that that time may not be it for her.
“As my coach said, really take the opportunity,” Gan said. “It’s rare that I get to race against such big names in this sport in this event, and I think I wanted to put myself out there – race these girls and have fun as well.”
