PHNOM PENH: There were times when getting a good night’s rest before races was difficult for swimmer Quah Ting Wen. But not at the 32nd SEA Games.
“There’d be nights before my races where I couldn’t sleep till 12 or maybe 1, but here, I’m sleeping like a baby even though it’s hot and the beds in the village are hard. I’m sleeping well,” she told reporters after making it five consecutive golds in the 100m freestyle at the Morodok Techo Aquatic Centre in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Monday (May 8).
“I just feel this sense of calm … peace of mind.”
Perhaps, this is her experience talking. After all, eighteen years after she made her SEA Games debut in the Philippines, Quah is still going strong.
Quah clocked a time of 55.83s to take gold for her 50th Games medal, while Philippines’ Jasmine Alkhaldi clinched silver and Nguyen Thuy Hien of Vietnam finished with bronze. The 30-year-old is also the Games record holder in the event.
Not even the multiple power trips on her floor in the athletes’ village fazes Quah now.
“Now we’re just like: ‘It’s the SEA Games, you know? This is my ninth one, I’ve pretty much seen everything,” she said.
“This girl has brought so much to Singapore, she is so talented in everything she puts her mind to,” said national head coach Gary Tan of Quah.
“Singapore is really blessed to have somebody like her in our team.”
