Amanda Lim, former sprint queen of Singapore and South-east Asia

Aug 31, 2022 12:37 pm

National swimmer Amanda Lim, 29, made headlines on Monday (Aug 30) after she, along with former Olympic gold medallist Joseph Schooling, 27, were investigated for possible offences related to the consumption of cannabis.

But she was once not just Singapore's, but also South-east Asia's fastest woman in the pool.

Here's more about Lim, who won a total of 19 golds, four silvers and two bronzes between the 2007 and 2021 SEA Games:

1. She made her competitive debut for Singapore in 2007 aged 14 when she raced at the Hong Kong International Open. That same year, the Singapore Sports school student made her SEA Games debut as part of the 4×200m freestyle relay team that won a silver in Thailand.

2. Lim showed much promise as a youth, competing in various events such as the inaugural Asian Youth Games held in Singapore in 2009, where she won four medals. She also broke the 50m freestyle national record at the time, clocking 25.38sec in the semi-finals to eclipse the previous mark of 25.65sec, and she held that record until 2017. Lim also still holds the Under-17 50m freestyle national record.

3. In 2009, she became the fastest woman in South-east Asia for the first time, setting the SEA Games record of 25.82 seconds in Vientiane. It was the first of six consecutive 50m freestyle golds for the Singapore sprinter until she was upset by Thailand's Jenjira Srisaard in Hanoi earlier this year and settled for silver. She won all her titles in Games records each year.

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4. Lim studied at the SSP before graduating with a diploma in sport science and exercise management from Auckland University of Technology. She then studied sports science and management at the Nanyang Technological University.

5. After her Sports Excellence Scholarship was not renewed in 2017, she worked in healthcare for a few years. She now helps to run Athletic Inc Academy that provides youth, current and former athletes with alternative sources of income as well as mentorship programmes and resources related to college pathways.