Gan Ching Hwee wins historic 1,500m freestyle silver at the 2026 Asian Games

Gan Ching Hwee’s first Asian Games medal came with two national records in the same race. On 20 September 2026, the Singapore swimmer took silver in the women’s 1,500m freestyle in 16:00.45. Her time for the first 800m—8:29.56—was itself a Singapore record. 2418

How the 1,500m final unfolded

Gan said her approach was to “go out fast and just be brave.” She finished behind China’s Li Bingjie, who won gold in 15:53.52, and ahead of Japan’s Ichika Kajimoto, who took bronze in 16:06.83. Gan’s finish was 0.45 seconds short of breaking the 16-minute barrier, a goal that remained just out of reach despite her record swim. 124

The silver made Gan Singapore’s first swimming medallist at the 2026 Asian Games and the country’s first medallist in the Games’ women’s 1,500m freestyle. That helps explain the mixed reaction: it was a breakthrough podium finish, but also a near miss against her personal time goal. 254

Why the result mattered

Gan had won multiple freestyle titles at the SEA Games, but an Asian Games medal had eluded her. At the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, she finished fourth in the 1,500m. She went on to place ninth in the event at the Paris 2024 Olympics in a then-national-record 16:10.13, and lowered that mark to 16:01.29 at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships. Shortly before the 2026 Games, she finished fourth in the 1,500m at her first Commonwealth Games. 2111261

Her 1,500m silver was the start, not the end, of her Asian Games campaign. Gan subsequently won 400m freestyle silver in a national-record 4:06.81, then 800m silver in 8:26.25—improving the 800m mark she had set during the longer race. She finished with three silvers and was Singapore’s only swimming medallist at the Games. 17193