The swim queen was the first Singaporean woman to win Asian Games golds in Bangkok in 1978.
SINGAPORE – At 11, Junie Sng was so dominant in the swimming pool that she caught the attention of the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping – the duo shared a brief chat at the 1975 International Swimming and Diving Friendship Meet in Beijing.Her career continued to sizzle as she became Singapore’s first female swimmer to win an Asian Games gold at 14, emigrated to Australia at 16, and returned to sweep 10 gold medals at the 1983 SEA Games on home soil.
Recalling her “love-hate relationship” with swimming, she said: “The 400m and 800m free came quite naturally to me. As Mr Kee would say, I didn’t have fast-twitch muscles, so long distance was my jam really... and height wasn’t a factor.” After emigrating in 1980, she levelled up with renowned coach Bill Sweetenham and delivered seven golds at the 1981 SEA Games in Manila. She came full circle at Toa Payoh to claim 10 gold medals from eight individual and two relays at the 1983 edition.
While she also made the 400m and 800m finals at the 1978 Commonwealth Games, her one regret was not competing at the Olympics as she retired before the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
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