Singaporean swimmer Tedd Chan smashed a longstanding national record in the men’s 50m backstroke on Sept 21, clocking 24.97 seconds on his Asian Games debut at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre to qualify for the final.
The 16-year-old’s performance marked the first time a Singaporean has dipped under the 25-second barrier in the event. Chan’s time eclipsed the previous national mark of 25.13 seconds, which Quah Zheng Wen set at the 2015 FINA World Cup in Moscow before Chan was even born.
### Record-Breaking Heats in Tokyo
Swimming in the final heat of the morning, Chan faced a stacked field that included China’s Xu Jiayu, who touched in 24.64 seconds, and South Korea’s Yoon Jih-wan, who clocked 24.74 seconds. China’s Wang Zicheng topped Heat 2 in 24.80 seconds, leaving Chan fourth overall in the preliminary standings.
Reflecting on his race, Chan said that his underwater kicks lacked his usual precision, but he felt the water moving well. Before the race, his personal best stood at 25.52 seconds, set earlier in 2026 at the National School Games. His sprint pedigree includes a boys’ 50m backstroke gold and a 50m freestyle silver at the 2025 Asian Youth Games in Bahrain.
### Chasing History in the Finals
Chan’s teammate Julian Lee also featured in the heats, finishing 18th overall out of 29 swimmers with a time of 26.51 seconds. Heading into the evening session, teammate Mikkel Lee offered simple advice: to have fun.
Several other Singaporean swimmers joined Chan in advancing to their respective finals on Sept 21. Mikkel Lee (22.30 seconds) and Jonathan Tan (22.43 seconds) secured spots in the men’s 50m freestyle final after placing eighth and 10th overall in the heats. Victoria Lim qualified for the women’s 200m freestyle final with a time of 2:03.72, while Christian Schulz missed the cut after finishing 14th. Additionally, the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team of Glen Lim, Brandon Yap, Russel Pang, and Ardi Zulhilmi Azman advanced after clocking 7:22.73.
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