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Tan Howe Liang, S'pore's 1st Olympic medallist, dies at 91
He was Singapore's only Olympic medallist for 48 years.
December 04, 2024, 02:28 PM
Tan Howe Liang, Singapore's first Olympic medallist, has passed away on Dec. 3.
He was 91.
Tan's passing was announced by the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) on Dec. 4.
Tan won a silver medal in the lightweight category for weightlifting at the 1960 Rome Olympics, Singapore's first-ever Olympic medal.
He would be Singapore's only Olympic medallist for nearly half a century, until the Singapore women's table tennis team won silver in 2008.
Became national champion after training 1 year
Tan was born in the city of Swatow, China in 1933, coming to Singapore with his family when he was four.
At 14, Tan's ailing father died in Singapore and his mother returned to China, leaving him to be cared for his granduncle and grandaunt.
Before his father’s death, Tan promised that he would be one of the strongest men in the world.
Inspired after chancing upon a strongman competition at the now-defunct Gay World Amusement Park, Tan started working out on his own with a single set of barbells, according to a National Library Board (NLB) article.
After one year of training, Tan clinched national junior and senior weightlifting titles for the lightweight division. He was 20.
Silver at second Olympics outing
Tan made his Olympic debut in 1956, coming in ninth.
In his second Olympics in Rome, Tan endured debilitating cramps — even blacking out at one point — to lift a total weight of 380kg.
He finished second out of 33 competitors, claiming the silver.
Tan also clinched medals at the Commonwealth, Asian and South East Asian Peninsular (SEAP) games, a rare feat.
Through much of his career, Tan took on odd jobs such as an electrician, a store clerk and a dockworker to support himself financially.
Appointed as national weightlifting coach in 1968
In 1968, Tan was appointed as the national weightlighting coach as he gradually retired from active competition.
Later, he was employed by the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) as a gymnasium supervisor.
24 years after his Olympic feat, in 1984, Tan was honoured with a gold plaque from the International Weightlifting Federation for his services to the sport.
Top image from sgolympics/Instagram
