Gan Ching Hwee wins World Cup gold with Asian short-course record
The Singapore swimmer improved her national 1,500m freestyle mark twice in six days and earned US$10,000 for her Astana victory.
A time of 15min 38.41sec gave Singapore swimmer Gan Ching Hwee the Asian short-course record and gold in the women’s 1,500m freestyle in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Oct 15. The race was part of the third World Aquatics Swimming World Cup stop.
Gan, 23, bettered the previous Asian best of 15:41.80, recorded by China’s Li Bingjie at the 2022 Chinese National Championships. She also improved her Singapore record by 6.82sec, having won in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Oct 10 with 15:45.23.
The silver went to New Zealand’s Caitlin Deans, who clocked 15:48.38, with China’s Chang Mohan taking bronze in 15:55.61. Gan’s victory brought prize money of US$10,000 (S$12,800).
Gan said the Asian mark was an extra goal after a reminder in Tashkent, rather than her principal objective. Returning to short-course racing after a long absence, she said she had approached each World Cup stop as an opportunity to learn and adapt.
In September, Gan collected Asian Games silver medals in Japan over 400m, 800m and 1,500m freestyle, finishing behind Li in each event. She said the move into World Cup racing had not been smooth after the mental demands of the Asian Games. Her next event is the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m), taking place in Beijing from Dec 1 to 6.
