New Singapore head coach Gary Tan aims for good showing at 2017 SEA Games
The Singapore Swimming Association has appointed Gary Tan as head coach of the National Training Centre (NTC).
Former head coach Sergio Lopez posted a brief note of support when the 34-year-old was unveiled on Friday (Nov 4). “Proud of you Gary!” said the Spaniard.
The two-time Olympian was previously assistant to Lopez until the Spaniard left in August.
He will now oversee and train swimmers at the NTC. Eighty per cent of these swimmers are in the national team.
Tan will also be working closely with Sonya Porter, who has been appointed the new SSA Technical Director. Porter will continue working on the Long Term Athlete Development Pathway and work with different affiliates to strengthen the swimming eco-system.
SEA Games preparation ongoing
The first task at hand for Tan will be to continue preparations for the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur next year and decide who will make the team.
“Whether we surpass our 23 gold medals target, we first need to find out who makes up the dynamic of the SEA Games team,” said Tan.
Currently, Tan says there are uncertainties surrounding Tao Li and Quah Zheng Wen.
It is unclear if Tao, who skipped the Rio Games earlier this year, has returned to training in the pool or is still focusing on her coaching career.
For Quah, there are decisions to be made on whether he will continue training in Singapore or go overseas to continue his training.
However, Quah will still be a key member of the 2017 SEA Games team, after Tan named him along with his sister Ting Wen, Joseph Schooling and Amanda Lim as Singapore’s go-to swimmers.
“We are not really at the stage where we can say that we think that SEA Games is something where we can just put our second stringers in,” Tan explained.
“We have a group of kids, even though they are still in the pipeline, but there’s also still a fair bit to work on so we still need these guys to be participating and take it seriously so we can also account for the medal count. We cannot approach it lightly, and have to take it seriously.”
At the same time, Tan's definition of success goes beyond a high medal tally count. “I'm looking forward to a sustainable environment here in Singapore, to ensure that Singaporeans can love swimming, love watching the sport, and knowing that every single person here in Singapore can put swimming close to their hearts,” said Tan.
Tan also added that there is a long term plan in place for swimmers with the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in mind, but said the team would reveal more “in due time”.
