Gan Ching Hwee turned a fourth-place finish at the previous Asian Games into a silver medal in the women’s 1,500m freestyle on 20 September 2026. She finished in 16:00.45, breaking her own Singapore record and securing the country’s first swimming medal of these Games.
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The podium and the two records
China’s Li Bingjie won in 15:53.52, Gan took silver in 16:00.45, and Japan’s Ichika Kajimoto claimed bronze in 16:06.83. Gan’s time improved on her previous national 1,500m mark of 16:01.29.
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Gan broke another national record before she reached the finish: her 8:29.56 split at 800m was a new Singapore mark for that distance. It was a split within the 1,500m race, not a separate 800m final.
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A brave start after a near miss
Gan described her approach to the race as wanting to “go out fast and just be brave.” The early pace produced the record-breaking 800m split, and she held on for silver. At the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, she had finished fourth in the 1,500m; this time, she reached the podium for the first time.
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The result made her the first Singaporean to win an Asian Games medal in the women’s 1,500m freestyle. It also opened Singapore’s swimming medal account at the 2026 Games.
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What happened next
The 1,500m was the first of three individual silvers for Gan at these Games. She later took second in the 400m freestyle in 4:06.81 and the 800m freestyle in 8:26.25, setting national records in both finals. Her later 800m time improved on the split record she had set during the 1,500m.
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Reflecting on the completed campaign, Gan said three silvers were “way beyond my expectations” and that the results gave her confidence that her training had paid off. That reaction came after all three races, rather than immediately after the 1,500m final.
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Another Singaporean in the 1,500m results, Sarah Sim En Xi, placed seventh in 17:21.51. The available results do not support a complete roundup of every Singapore swimmer’s performance that day.
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