It’s a familiar feeling walking into the Quah household for the first time. Tea-stained photographs of children plaster the stairwell leading to the second floor, chronicling a family’s history. A faded couch, likely a long-time resident of the living room, bears the burden of years of lounging. The sound of barking dogs in the back garden adds to the comfortable clutter of everyday life, speaking of days spent together—the beautiful mess. You would’ve never guessed this home houses three Olympians. That is, until you catch a glimpse of the three professional portraits of athletes proudly hanging in the living room.
For many Singaporeans, the Quah siblings are household names. Chances are, you've found yourself glued to the television, heart racing, as you cheered them on in international competitions. They are some of Singapore’s most accomplished swimmers, representing us on the world's biggest sporting stages. For the upcoming Olympics in Paris, however, despite their best efforts to compete together for the first time in an Olympic setting, only one of them has qualified. Eldest sister Quah Ting Wen and Quah Zheng Wen have been fixtures in the swimming world for more than a decade, yet it is their little sister, Jing Wen, who secured a spot.
At 27, Quah Zheng Wen finds himself in an unfamiliar position—watching from the sidelines as his sister prepares for her Olympic debut in Paris. “I feel sad; sad that I'm not there to experience her debut at the Olympic Games,” he confides, seated diagonally from me on his living room couch after a long day of filming. “I very much wished that this would have been the games that all three of us could go to together,” adds Quah, his eyes reflecting a mix of pride and wistfulness. “But I'm more proud than disappointed that I'm not there.”
He recalls his sister's tireless efforts to qualify for the previous Olympics in 2021, repeatedly attempting the gruelling 200-metre butterfly event before failing to qualify. “I felt incredibly sad that I was going without her,” he adds, “I remember thinking if there were an option to give up my spot for her, I would have.”
It's clear that family is of paramount importance to Quah. His greatest fear, he reveals, is the thought of losing his parents. This fear, he explains, has been a driving force in his life since he was young. "It's a big reason why I kind of want to start moving forward in my professional career, start being able to contribute more to the family so that my parents can kind of relax, retire, you know, do the things that they like, travel and enjoy life."
As an athlete closer to the end than the beginning, athletes like Quah face a unique challenge: the accelerated passage of time in their careers (and everything bad that comes with it). While the average person may not confront the physical effects of ageing until their hair greys and knees sore, athletes often hear whispers about their age by 30. Can Zheng Wen keep up with the younger swimmers? Zheng Wen should consider retirement to give the younger swimmers a chance. Quah is already past his peak. It hardly seems fair to label a 27-year-old as ageing, yet I’d wager this reality forces athletes to mature much faster than the average person.
"It's quite crazy," Zheng Wen begins, "your life as an athlete is compressed." He recounts his journey from being one of the youngest on the national team at 15 to suddenly finding himself the oldest male swimmer on Team Singapore. “I now stand almost completely alone at the age of 27,” he confides. “Even right now as we are speaking about it, that idea still seems foreign to me."
At only 27, it seems odd that Quah is already the oldest male swimmer on Team Singapore, especially given that this age often marks the peak for athletes in sports like basketball and football. When asked why this was, Quah attributes it to Singapore's intense academic culture and the corporate rat race where everyone’s racing to be ahead of each other. “To a lot of people, when you’re between 20 to 26, it's wasted time if you spend it doing sports because there's no money for one, there's no real progression, there's no kind of pathway out of sports into the working world.”
Perhaps this is why Quah finds himself in a situation where his younger counterparts are retiring as early as 18. Or maybe it’s due to the fact that no one younger has been able to outswim the UC Berkeley alum yet. “That’s one of the reasons why I'm still in it. I mean, if I can't be the best here, then I can't be the best anywhere, right?”
In the world of competition, it’s tempting to look at someone younger and feel a need to be better than them. The natural inclination is to believe that your greater experience and longer track record of winning should give you an edge. Plus, it's all too easy to imagine what these newcomers were doing when you were their age and write them off.
Quah, however, takes a different approach. Reflecting on his time training at UC Berkeley alongside Olympians and world record holders, he remembers the first time a younger swimmer outpaced him. “Even though they're younger, I never saw them as less of a threat, you know, I respected all of them equally.”
A mindset like this was vital during Quah’s journey through National Service. A series of deferments meant he was conscripted several years later than his peers, placing him in a platoon filled with individuals six years his junior. "It felt odd at first," Quah admitted. "I mean, you know, a lot of my sergeants and superiors were guys younger than me." However, Quah's experiences in competitive swimming where he'd learned to respect all opponents regardless of age prepared him well for this unusual dynamic. With a chuckle, he adds, "Men, you know, we don't really grow up too much, right? Men will always be boys."
Life imitates art, but is it a stretch to suggest that life also imitates sports? At 16, he set a national record in the 400m individual medley and made the Olympic squad, fighting to prove himself in London. By 20, he became the first Singaporean male to reach an Olympic swimming semi-final, placing 15th and 10th in butterfly events. Later, he’d forever etch his name into the front page of the history books, becoming Singapore’s most-medalled male swimmer.
Yet in 2024, despite the achievements, Quah finds himself, once again, needing to prove his worth after missing Olympic qualification. It’s a cycle akin to the human experience: bare and vulnerable we arrive, bare and vulnerable we depart; just as athletes begin and end their careers battling to prove themselves. In the case of Quah, silencing pundits isn’t his only hurdle, he’s also racing against the decay of time—which begs the question: with Father Time as his challenger, how fiercely will he swim this final lap?
“The older, more experienced and better at the sport you are, the harder it is to find those small things to change that get you that little fraction of more time,” he says. “But undeniably, I have to try, I have to try extremely hard."
His voice carries a mix of determination and wonder, "But that's the beauty, right? We never know the limit, we always believe that there's that 1 per cent we can change, that can make a difference to bring out a performance better than any you've ever put out before." True to his words, in his most recent swim before this interview, he achieved his fastest time of the entire year. “I'm proud to say that I never gave up.”
Given Quah's mindset, one might naturally expect him to pursue a spot in the 2028 Olympics. Yet, reality intrudes. “I think it's hard to say, in four years I’ll be 32,” he says with a tinge of wistfulness. “I do want to be able to contribute to my family financially and have my parents be in a comfortable spot but I think right now unfortunately in Singapore we're just not in a spot where we're able to push athletes for that long of a period.”
In that case, what’s next? Having studied neurobiology at UC Berkeley, Quah had aspirations of eventually becoming a doctor like his father but his perspective has shifted. “It was a long-time dream of mine,” he admitted. “But I just don't think med school is in the cards really for me anymore.” Quah appears content with this shift, adding, "I've learned to be okay with that."
To adapt and find peace in letting go speaks to a deeper maturity, one that Quah attributes in part to the life lessons swimming has taught him. “I used to think that winning was everything,” he admits. “Results were everything and anything less than that would be a loss.” This mentality drove him towards excellence for years.
Yet, as he’s matured as an athlete, he’s come to realise that the countless hours spent training with teammates chasing the same goals, the camaraderie—the journey, is equally as important. But perhaps the most valuable lesson swimming has taught him is gratitude. "Cherish every moment," he says, "because once it's gone, it's gone forever."
At present, Quah hopes to use his platform to encourage the younger generations of swimmers and to progress sports in Singapore. “In the past, I would’ve been like why would I want to do this (8-hour shoot)? I’d rather train, I’d rather be eating, I’d rather be sleeping. I could hang out with my friends,” he reflects, then adds with a self-deprecating chuckle, "Okay, not so much that one lah because I didn’t have a social life.” He goes on, “but I think this is an opportunity for me to share my experiences and show that it's possible to swim longer than five years.”
Singapore is quick to applaud its sporting heroes but tends to forget them when they stumble. In a sport like swimming, where losses far outnumber wins, is it fair to expect athletes to excel consistently without adequate support during challenging times? One can’t help but wonder: Is there a world where Singaporean athletes are rewarded when they win and supported when they lose?
Perhaps in that world, this interview might have taken a different direction—I would have asked him about the Olympics in 2028. Maybe Quah would have felt more confident about his Olympic future; spoken with optimism and determination about his training plans and goals for the next four years.
Regardless, there is no use dwelling in hypotheticals—the focus must remain on the present and the tangible future. Whether or not Quah competes in the 2028 Olympics, his influence on Singapore's sporting landscape is undeniable and will continue to be felt long after he hangs up his goggles.
Director of Photography: Jaya Khidir
Director and Editor: Nowo Kasturi
Creative Direction: Asri Jasman
Grooming: Christian M
Gaffer: Fang Yuan
Grips: Amos Elijah Lee, Ern Quek, Guo Wei, and Timothy Lim
Production Assistants: Ng Kai Ming and Syed Abdullah
Watch: Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
Locations: Hideout and COMO Orchard
Animation: Joan Tai
It’s a swim meet of sorts. Ambassadors of OMEGA, Michael Phelps and Léon Marchand—two athletes who shaped the sport of swimming in their own unique ways. Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history with 28 medals, now passes the (Olympic) torch to Marchand, another legend in the making, beat Phelps’ last remaining World Record in the 400m Individual Medley. The latter now sets his sights on the Olympics Paris 2024.
In an exclusive interview, the two swim legends discuss that day, share their secrets to precision, their admiration for coach Bob Bowman, as well as the importance of OMEGA timekeeping.
When and how did you both meet for the first time?
Léon Marchand: The first time was in Fukuoka at the World Champs. I’d just finished my 400m in the preliminaries, before the final. Michael was in the stands and he called me over. It was the first time I’d met him and he said, “go get it tonight.” He was excited for me. I felt really good after the prelims. I’d met a legend and I was ready to go.
Michael Phelps: I said, “yeah, dude, just rip one tonight.” We’d messaged back and forth on Instagram, months before. I’d even been at the pool for a few meets at ASU where Léon trained, but we’d still never met. It was crazy. So, actually, the first time we chatted was in Fukuoka. Obviously, I hear everything that he’s doing from Bob Bowman. Coach is grandpa to my kids. He’s kind of like a dad to me, so I knew what Léon was going through just based on his training. I just said to him, “See what you can do. Records are meant to be broken.” This was the kid that was going to break my record, there was no doubt about it.
Of course, now we know that Léon did break Michael’s World Record. Take us through your different emotions in that moment.
MP: To be honest, I was trying to hold it for 20 years. So I got there. I can say I hold the longest-standing swimming World Record. That’s something really cool. But in Léon’s race, as soon as he turned with 100 to go, and he was a body length ahead of the record, I knew he wasn’t going to fade. As I said before, I knew it was going to get broken. I just didn’t know when.
LM: I’d been watching the video of Michael’s World Record a lot. The one from Beijing. I knew it was an amazing swim and it was a dream to maybe come close to that. I remember when I touched the finish, I knew I’d broken it because I just felt really good. The entire pool was cheering for me, so I thought, “alright, that’s it. I think I did it.” I took my time to turn around and look at the OMEGA scoreboard. I couldn’t believe it. I remember feeling really present in my life right at that moment.
MP: That was my last-standing individual World Record, but we’re keeping it in the family with Bob and Léon. So it couldn’t have gone to a better person.
Do you feel a World Record coming when you’re in the middle of a race?
MP: It’s just the sound. For every one of my World Records, the sound is different. I don’t know if it’s the energy, but it’s just a different feel. I always hear whistles, like different tones and it’s almost like you’re in the matrix at that moment. You’ve prepared. Everything is going well and you’re thinking, “Let me out of the cage and let me race.”
LM: Absolutely. For me, I think it was pretty silent until the 200 mark. Then, I guess I was at a good speed so people started cheering for me. And I could definitely hear it in breaststroke. Because in breaststroke, your head is really coming out of the water. The Japanese were cheering for it. It just feels like an epic moment. What did you say to each other after that race?
LM: Right before the podium, the first thing Michael said was, “Yeah, you can go faster than that.” (laughs). But it was exciting just to talk to him. And he wished me good luck for the next events that I had because it was only the first day of the meet.
MP: It’s just a bad-ass record. Right? It was a bad-ass swim. If you put in the work, you’re going to get the results. Léon is a perfect example of it. If he wants to go a step further, I’m sure he knows what he has to do. I can’t say it enough - he’s in great hands with Bob. I mean, Bob is a psycho when it comes to details. (laughs) I mean psycho in the best, most endearing, heartfelt, loving way.
So what are those details? What’s the secret to gaining a split-second advantage?
LM: I was watching a documentary about Michael and Bob a few years ago, and it was all about the underwater. It showed how good Michael was at going faster underwater. He was explaining how you could escape from the waves, the surface, at every turn. Just go deeper, push deeper at the wall, and work under the water more than usual. At the time, I was already quite comfortable in the water, but it wasn’t really working. So three or four years ago, I started repeating my underwater every day at practice. Every lap. Every turn. Eventually, those became split-second differences.
MP: I can echo exactly what Léon just said. Every single day, our coach Bob is giving us certain challenges to prepare us for the moment those lights come on. The most pressured situations. That’s why Léon and I have been able to rise above the rest. Because Bob has literally put us through every possible situation. So, if there’s a race that comes down to a touch, you can pretty much guarantee it’s going to be one of us that’s going to win that race. It’s because of the repetitions that you do every single day.
LM: I think practising with Bob every day is way harder than the actual race. We go through a lot of pain. But then, when I get to the race, it’s easier to actually try and win.
MP: Every day, across my desk, I look at a photo of winning a race by a 100th of a second, the smallest margin of victory. The reason why I won that race is because, in that moment, I knew if I take a full stroke, I’m going to lose my momentum. That’s only going to come based on the awareness that we have, and that we gain every day in practice.
So, it’s true, practice really makes perfect?
MP: When you have a training environment like Léon has, and like I had, you have some of the best swimmers in the world across all strokes. Léon is the World Record holder in the 400 Individual Medley, but he’s training against the top three, or top five in the world in freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. They all want to win a gold medal. So you’re able to literally race the best every single day. And at that point, the more you do that, the more confidence you gain. When you step off from the blocks, you’re like, “Oh, I’m gonna rip that guy to shreds.”
LM: Exactly. I have a really good team, a really good group for training. I usually feel way more confident because of the work we’ve done before. It makes it easier for us.
Do you see a lot of similarities in each other?
LM: We definitely have similarities. We both work really hard. We love to push the boundaries of the sport, and we’re both pretty good at performing under pressure. That’s why we can do a lot of different events.
MP: We are both very dedicated, very hard-working. We put in the work to be able to have the opportunities. I see that based on what he does in practice. For me, I wanted that opportunity, and I wanted to grab it as much as I could. And I see that with Léon. You see him taking underwater to a different level. Ian Thorpe kind of invented that, then Ryan Lochte and I took it to another level. Now, Léon’s really taking it to a new level again.
You’ve both had OMEGA Timekeeping throughout your careers. What does that precision and reliability mean to the athletes?
LM: I don’t think I could do a sport where I get judged by someone. I think it’s just amazing to have this precise timekeeping because you remove any injustice or unfairness. We can just accept the victories. The results don’t lie. That’s the numbers. And I do really think it helps the sport overall to make it better and faster.
MP: That photo of me winning a race by a 100th of a second against [Milorad] Čavić, they were able to go down to the 1,000th of a second just to prove it. It’s the best timing on the planet. I’ve won every one of my Olympic medals through OMEGA timekeeping. I guess I’m extremely biased, but they’re the best. From the year 2000 to 2020, we’ve been able to see so many different improvements that have really benefited the sport. We have these unbelievable timing systems, we have these unbelievable starting blocks. These things are small details that are helping us take the sport to a new level.
One recent innovation from OMEGA is the measurement of live data—such as the number of strokes, the live positions, and even acceleration. Do you think this data will help coaches and athletes in the sport?
LM: I think the data can allow us to improve our technique or movement. It’s all about detail. If we get that information, we can improve some things. We can improve the quality of our practice and use it to get faster. I think it’s definitely helping the sport. For example, I’m working on trying to hold my speed underwater, because I get a lot of speed during the underwater. So data like that could definitely help me to maybe see where I could improve my stroke and just hold that speed throughout the race.
MP: For me, I think it really shows where our deficiencies are. As Léon was saying, when you look at acceleration, for example, you’re able to break it down into bigger details. You can look at stroke control, you can look at the distance for stroke, all of these fine things. I’m kind of a geek in that way. The more knowledge I have, and the more information I have, then I’m going to use it to my advantage. I think it’s truly a game changer. And then from a broadcast perspective, again, I’m a nerd with that stuff. If I see somebody slowing down, and somebody else is saying they’re gonna win, that’s something I can easily point out with the data. It’s all the small details that the public doesn’t see.
Do you have a favourite OMEGA watch?
LM: I really like the new Speedmaster Chronoscope. The one created for Paris 2024.
MP: That thing is unreal. As soon as it went online, I instantly started screenshotting it and putting it on my wish list. I guess I’m a big Speedmaster guy and I love anything gold or Sedna Gold. The CK 2998, I have that one. It’s a limited edition and it has my son’s name engraved on the back. But then, I can’t forget my all-time favourite—my own Planet Ocean. As a kid growing up, I never thought that I would have a watch created in my name.
LM: I think I love Speedmasters the most. I am wearing the Speedmaster Moonwatch now and I love it.
And talking about speed… Léon, is there one Michael Phelps race that inspires you the most?
LM: Yes, it was Michael’s 200m butterfly race in the 2008 Olympic Games final. Because he won that race even though his goggles filled with water. It’s like being blindfolded. A nightmare. I wouldn’t want to be in that position. You couldn’t see anything right?
MP: Nothing after the first 25. I couldn’t see a thing.
LM: That’s crazy. But for him, it didn’t matter. He didn’t give up. I thought it was really impressive to just see how mentally prepared he was. How bad he wanted to win. That was really inspiring to me.
MP: I was so annoyed about it. I probably could have gone 1:50 that day, you know, to be honest. I think that was the reason I was most upset.
And Michael, what is it about Léon that impresses you most?
MP: His 400m Individual Medley is awesome, but obviously, he’s an unbelievable breaststroker. He swims a great 200m butterfly. He’s not just a “one trick pony.” I think it’ll be fun to really see him expand if he wants to, or really hyper-focus and take it to a new level. I think Léon is somebody who is special. You don’t see too many swimmers who are doing the things that he’s doing. For me as a swimming nerd, it’s fun to see.
We now have Paris 2024 coming up in Léon’s home country. Outside the sports, what things should visitors do in the host city?
LM: I don’t live in Paris, but I’ve had some great advice from friends who are there. Maybe have dinner with a view of the Louvre. Or grab some pastries from Cedric Grolet. He has a super cool Instagram page and it’s pretty beautiful what he’s doing. Then, of course, you can watch the sunset from the roofs of Paris, or spend a night at the Molitor Hotel. The pool there is crazy. You’ve already been there, right Michael?
MP: Yes, that’s the one by Roland Garros, right? I’ve had some cool experiences in Paris. My wife and I spent some time over there. We’ve had dinner a handful of times just staring at the Eiffel Tower. We’ve gotten to the Louvre, in fact, we’ve gone to almost every museum. Honestly, I think the coolest thing about the Olympics is just being able to enjoy every culture.
And one final question for both of you. You probably can’t be separated in swimming, but in which other sports do you think you could beat each other?
LM: Oh my God, I’m really bad at any sports played on the ground.
MP: I’ve got golf handled then.
LM: Yeah, you can have that for sure. Maybe foosball. Have you played foosball before?
MP: I’m terrible. Terrible.
LM: My dad is pretty good. So he can teach me. I’ll choose that. (laughs)
