Commentary: Singapore’s Olympics selection saga - how did we end up here again?

SINGAPORE: The Olympic Games take place once every four years. “Citius, Altius, Fortius - Communiter” is the motto of these Games. Translated from Latin, it means “Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together”.

Not only do the top athletes of the world come together to compete on this global stage, it’s also an event where the ideal that sports should be made accessible to people from every country is exemplified. In the past week, there’s been significant public interest and debate surrounding the selection and de-selection of national swimmers Gan Ching Hwee and Quah Ting Wen for the upcoming Paris Olympics.

There have been multiple articles on this, so I won’t rehash the details. But in summary, Quah was initially set to represent Singapore in the women’s 4x100m medley relay. At the 11th hour, however, due to various permutations stemming from Olympic qualification rules, Quah’s spot was rescinded and Gan was selected instead.

As an ex-athlete, I deeply empathise with the pain Quah is experiencing. The grind of working towards a goal. The exhilaration of qualifying with your teammates, only to be told you can’t go, crushes you in a way that is life-changing. It makes you question the years you’ve dedicated to being the best that you can be. The time committed to this cause cannot be retrieved, and the sacrifices and things in life that you had put on hold feel like they were all for nothing.

My big question is: How did this happen again? How can the same scenario happen for the second successive Games?

After the debacle surrounding the same two swimmers in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, I was sure a revised selection criteria would have been put in place that was airtight. How are we then facing the same saga?

Three years ago, a