SINGAPORE – The past 24 hours have been a blur for Singaporean swimmer Julia Yeo after her surprise appearance in the women’s 4x100m medley relay final at the SEA Games.
The 14-year-old can barely recall the finer details of the night at the Huamark Aquatic Center in Bangkok on Dec 15.
One moment, she was sitting in the stands, cheering on her teammates.
The next, she was told just 20 minutes before the final that she would be swimming the backstroke leg of the relay in place of Levenia Sim, who had suffered a shoulder injury during the warmup.
What followed was a frantic scramble. She pulled on a swimsuit – not even her own – in barely two minutes, throwing on a friend’s parka before heading to the pool.
Before she knew it, she had swum her leg of the relay.
The whirlwind substitution ended in gold, as Julia teamed up with Quah Ting Wen, Quah Jing Wen and Letitia Sim to clock a Games record 4min 05.79sec, retaining the title in an event that Singapore have won since 2003.
Looking back on her campaign, the Singapore Sports School student said: “This was my first SEA Games and I missed a medal in the 200m back, so winning a gold medal is very special for me.
“The next SEA Games, definitely win an individual gold medal and hopefully I can break more records and personal bests as well.”
She was speaking to the media at Changi Airport on Dec 16, when the swim team arrived home from Thailand, following their campaign that ended with 19 golds, eight silvers and seven bronzes.
Julia had gone into the meet without setting any expectations in order not to put too much pressure on herself.
