“During the race, it definitely felt good, I felt strong,” Gan said. “Towards the end it hurt, but that’s a normal part of racing … Learning to embrace the pain the more I race is really important for this event especially.”
She will compete in the final on Tuesday. Before Gan, the last Singaporean female swimmer to make a final at the championships was Tao Li 18 years ago.
According to Singapore Aquatics, her 800m split time in the race on Monday was also a new national record of 8:29.93, which is about four seconds faster than the 8:32.37 she set in the 800m freestyle heats in Paris, where she finished ninth overall.
“I go in every race without expectations,” said Gan. “Sure, last night I was thinking (that there’d be) so many eyes watching me, especially from yesterday. But ultimately, once I jump in, I let go of all the expectations and swim the race like how I want to swim.”
This achievement comes 24 hours after Gan smashed a 15-year national record in the women’s 400m freestyle, breaking Lynette Lim’s national mark that was set at the December 2009 SEA Games.
She finished 13th overall in the heats, with Canada’s Summer McIntosh winning the event.
Gan has been in fine form in recent times.
At last year’s Paris Olympics, she set two national records in the 800m freestyle and 1500m freestyle. She was the first Singaporean female swimmer to do so at the Games since Tao Li (100m backstroke) in 2012.
“It’s rare that I get to race against such big names in this sport, in this event,” said Gan. “I wanted to put myself out there as well, race these girls, and just have fun as well.”
.JPG?itok=7Tyct7WM "Jail for preschool teacher who deliberately tripped toddler four times")
