Former Olympic sailor Benedict Tan named chef de mission for 2020 Tokyo Olympics
SINGAPORE — Former SEA Games and Asian Games sailing gold medallist Dr Benedict Tan has been named as the chef de mission for Team Singapore at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Tan, an Olympian himself as he competed in the Laser sailing class at the 1996 Atlanta Games, is a vice-president of the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) and had served as president of the Singapore Sailing Federation from 2010 to 2018.
This will be the 51-year-old’s first chef de mission appointment. A medical doctor who specialises in sports medicine, Tan had also served as Team Singapore’s sports physician at the 1998 and 2002 Asian Games, as well as the 1999 and 2001 SEA Games.
“The Olympics are the pinnacle for any athlete, and it's the one thing many work their entire sporting careers for. That makes this appointment both a tremendous privilege, and also a great responsibility,” he said in an SNOC media release on Wednesday (28 August).
“I will, of course, strive to fill my role the best that I can and hope that my experience as an Olympian, sports physician and administrator will be of value.”
Tan was the first Singaporean to win a sailing gold medal at the Asian Games, clinching the Laser class title in Hiroshima in 1994. He also earned four consecutive golds in the same class at the SEA Games, from 1989 to 1995, and was thrice named Sportsman of the Year (1992, 1995 and 1996).
The Tokyo Olympics will be held from 24 July to 9 August next year.
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