S'pore swimmer Quah Zheng Wen named MVP male athlete of entire SEA Games 2019

Six golds, two silvers.

Belmont Lay | December 14, 2019, 12:36 AM

Singaporean swimmer Quah Zheng Wen is the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for male athletes at the 2019 SEA Games, having won six golds and two silvers — the highest number of medals.

CNA reported Quah saying after receiving news of the award on Dec. 11: "It's definitely an honour just to have our flag up there representing Team Singapore."

He also said that the award is "a reflection" of his performance.

Quah received his award at the closing ceremony on Wednesday evening.

Surpassed own expectations

The 23-year-old was happy to have also qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the 100m butterfly and 100m backstroke events.

He said he was aiming to qualify for the Olympics, but was not planning on getting gold.

He said: "It was a bonus. It's kind of a testament to how hard I'd been training."

The MVP award for female athletes went to Vietnamese swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien.

Swimming team strong

Quah and the swimming competitors, including his sisters Jing Wen and Ting Wen, were among the top performers this SEA Games.

Together, the swimmers won 23 gold medals, a feat that matches their best performance in 2015.

A total of 15 Games records, nine national records and 26 personal best timings were set this time round.

The Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) lauded the team in a press release on Wednesday, saying that they surpassed their away record of 19 golds in 2017.

Singapore sent its largest away contingent in history to this year's Games in the Philippines.

In total they won 53 golds, crossing the 900 gold medal mark as the 2019 Games ran its course.

With 46 silver and 68 bronze, Singapore won a total of 167 medals this times, 51 of which were from Games debutants, SNOC said.

Top photo via, SNOC