Commonwealth Games: Teong Tzen Wei swims to silver in 50m butterfly

Singapore swimmer Teong Tzen Wei wins a silver medal in the men's 50m butterfly event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. (PHOTOS: AP, Getty Images)
Singapore swimmer Teong Tzen Wei wins a silver medal in the men's 50m butterfly event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. (PHOTOS: AP, Getty Images)

Swimmer Teong Tzen Wei earned the first medal for Singapore at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, coming in second in the men's 50m butterfly final in Birmingham on Saturday (30 July).

The 24-year-old clinched the silver medal with a 23.21sec effort at the Sandwell Aquatic Centre, finishing behind England's Ben Proud, who swam a Games record 22.81sec to win the gold.

New Zealand's Cameron Gray took the bronze medal in 23.27sec.

With the silver, Teong becomes only the third Singaporean swimmer to earn a Commonwealth Games medal. Joseph Schooling was the first, winning a silver in the men's 100m fly at the Glasgow 2014 edition, while para-swimmer Toh Wei Soong bagged a bronze in the men's 50m freestyle (S7) in the 2018 Games in Gold Coast.

Teong had qualified for the final as the second-fastest swimmer on Friday, clocking 23.24sec in the semi-finals, just behind Proud (23.01sec), who won gold in the event in 2014.

The Singaporean has enjoyed a superb year, winning gold in the 50m freestyle in May's SEA Games in Hanoi as he became the first Southeast Asian male swimmer to go below 22 seconds in the event.

He also qualified for the 50m fly final at the FINA World Championships in June, making him the third Singaporean male swimmer to reach a final at the prestigious world meet.

Do you have a story tip? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.