Quah Zheng Wen

Quah Zheng Wen OLY (Chinese: 柯正文; pinyin: Kē Zhèngwén; born 29 September 1996) is a Singaporean professional swimmer who specialises in individual medley, backstroke, butterfly and freestyle events.[1]

Not to be confused with Quah Ting Wen or Quah Jing Wen.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Quah.
Quah Zheng Wen
Personal information
Full nameQuah Zheng Wen
Born (1996-09-29) 29 September 1996
Singapore
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBackstroke, Butterfly, Freestyle, Individual Medley
College teamUniversity of California, Berkeley
CoachGary Tan
Medal record
Men’s swimming
Representing  Singapore
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Asian Games 0 0 2
Southeast Asian Games 32 12 5
Asian Youth Games 3 2 2
Total 35 14 9
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Jakarta 4×100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Jakarta 4×200 m freestyle
Southeast Asian Games
Gold medal – first place2011 Palembang400 m medley
Gold medal – first place2013 Naypyidaw400 m medley
Gold medal – first place2013 Naypyidaw4×100 m medley
Gold medal – first place2013 Naypyidaw4×200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place2015 Singapore50 m backstroke
Gold medal – first place2015 Singapore100 m backstroke
Gold medal – first place2015 Singapore200 m backstroke
Gold medal – first place2015 Singapore400 m medley
Gold medal – first place2015 Singapore4×100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place2015 Singapore4×200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place2015 Singapore4×100 m medley
Gold medal – first place2017 Kuala Lumpur200 m butterfly
Gold medal – first place2017 Kuala Lumpur4×100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place2017 Kuala Lumpur100 m backstroke
Gold medal – first place2017 Kuala Lumpur200 m backstroke
Gold medal – first place2017 Kuala Lumpur4×200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place2017 Kuala Lumpur4×100 m medley
Gold medal – first place2019 Philippines100 m backstroke
Gold medal – first place2019 Philippines200 m backstroke
Gold medal – first place2019 Philippines4×100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place2019 Philippines4×200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place2019 Philippines200 m butterfly
Gold medal – first place2019 Philippines4×100 m medley
Gold medal – first place2021 Vietnam100 m backstroke
Gold medal – first place2021 Vietnam100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place2021 Vietnam4×100 m medley
Gold medal – first place2021 Vietnam50 m backstroke
Gold medal – first place2023 Cambodia100 m backstroke
Gold medal – first place2023 Cambodia100 m butterfly
Gold medal – first place2023 Cambodia4×100 m medley
Gold medal – first place2023 Cambodia4×100 m mixed medley
Gold medal – first place2023 Cambodia4×100 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place2011 Palembang200 m butterfly
Silver medal – second place2013 Naypyidaw100 m backstroke
Silver medal – second place2013 Naypyidaw200 m butterfly
Silver medal – second place2015 Singapore200 m medley
Silver medal – second place2015 Singapore200 m butterfly
Silver medal – second place2015 Singapore100 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place2015 Singapore200 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place2017 Kuala Lumpur50 m backstroke
Silver medal – second place2019 Philippines50 m backstroke
Silver medal – second place2019 Philippines100 m butterfly
Silver medal – second place2021 Hanoi100 m butterfly
Silver medal – second place2021 Hanoi200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place2011 Palembang50 m backstroke
Bronze medal – third place2013 Naypyidaw200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place2015 Singapore50 m butterfly
Bronze medal – third place2021 Vietnam4×200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place2023 Cambodia50 m backstroke
Asian Youth Games
Gold medal – first place2013 Nanjing200 m backstroke
Gold medal – first place2013 Nanjing200 m butterfly
Gold medal – first place2013 Nanjing200 m medley
Silver medal – second place2013 Nanjing200 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place2013 Nanjing4×100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place2013 Nanjing4×100 m medley
Quah Zheng Wen
Simplified Chinese柯正文

Education

Quah was educated at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and had achieved 43 points out of a possible 45 for his IB Diploma.[2]

After completed his IB Diploma Programme, Quah was accepted into the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore, but chose to defer his studies.[3][2] He subsequently went on to enrol at the University of California, Berkeley in 2017, before graduating in 2021.[4]

Swimming career

In June 2012, he set a national record in the 200 m individual medley. At the 2012 Summer Olympics he finished 33rd overall in the heats in the Men's 400 metre individual medley and failed to reach the final.[5] Quah was Singapore's flag bearer for the 2013 Asian Youth Games.[6] He won three individual gold medals and a silver medal at the 200 m backstroke, 200 m butterfly, 200 m individual medley and 200 m freestyle events respectively. He won the team silver and bronze medals at the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay and 4 × 100 m medley relay events.

At the 2015 Southeast Asian Games held in Singapore, Quah took part in 12 events, winning seven golds, four silvers and a bronze. He broke six Games records – three individual and three relays. In the men's 4 × 100 m medley relay which consisted of Quah, Joseph Schooling, Clement Lim and Lionel Khoo, the team finished the race in 3:38.25, erasing the old record of 3:41.35 set in 2011.[7]

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Quah achieved a personal best time in 200 meters butterfly in the heats. He was the first male Singaporean to qualify for a semifinal berth at an Olympics swim competition. He is one of two Singaporean male swimmers to have qualified for two semi-final berths at the Olympics.

Due to his potential at winning Olympic medals for Singapore, Quah was granted National Service (NS) deferment until the 2020 Olympic Games.[8] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Olympic Games was delayed to 2021 and his NS deferment was extended to 2021.[9]

In the 2020 Olympic Games, Quah competed in the 100m butterfly, the 200m butterfly and the 100m backstroke. He failed to clock personal best times and did not make it to the semi-finals for the three events.[10]

Quah returned to Singapore after a 5-year programme at the University of California, Berkeley, and is currently serving his National Service. However, Quah noted that he was “at a crossroads of some big life decisions” and desires to continue swimming.[10]

Personal life

Quah has an elder sister, Quah Ting Wen, and a younger sister, Quah Jing Wen, who both are national swimmers of Singapore as well.[11][12]

References
  1. "Zheng Wen Quah". London 2012 Olympics. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  2. Tan, Jeanette (12 January 2017). "Quah Zheng Wen postpones school in NUS Medicine to train & study in US for Tokyo 2020". mothership.sg. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  3. "Quah Zheng Wen allowed to defer NS for 2016 Olympic games training". AsiaOne. 7 July 2015. Archived from the original on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  4. "Quah Zheng Wen Bio". SwimSwam. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  5. Pris Chew (27 April 2016). "New Liberty Insurance Ambassador Quah Confident about Rio". PrisChew Dot Com. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  6. "Asian Youth Games: Zheng Wen takes the mantle". AsiaOne. Archived from the original on 15 June 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  7. Cheryl Tay (11 June 2015). "12 medals in 12 events: Here's what it cost Quah Zheng Wen". Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  8. "Singapore swimmer Quah Zheng Wen to defer NS until after 2020 Olympics". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  9. "National swimmers Joseph Schooling, Quah Zheng Wen get extension of NS deferment". CNA. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  10. Mohan, Matthew (4 August 2021). "Dealing with disappointment, handling expectations: Quah siblings reflect on Tokyo Olympics campaign". CNA. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  11. Leonard Lim (23 June 2009). "The 1 to watch". AsiaOne. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  12. Lim Say Heng (7 June 2015). "Aquatic family". AsiaOne. Archived from the original on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
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