Singapore swimmer Gan Ching Hwee nearly gave up on her Olympic dream. She's now inspiring the next wave

PARIS: Less than six months ago, Gan Ching Hwee wondered if her Olympic dream was ever going to materalise.

The 21-year-old had clocked a poor time at the World Championships in Doha in the 1500m freestyle, almost 10 seconds slower than her then personal best.

"I was 20 seconds away from the qualifying time (for the Olympics)," she told CNA in an exclusive interview on Sunday (Aug 4). "I just remember feeling so disheartened and discouraged."

After missing out on the Tokyo Games three years ago, doubts quietly crept in.

"I was really thinking about it day in and day out, do I have what it takes to qualify? There was just a lot of self-doubt that came along the way," she revealed.

Fast forward to today, Gan is an Olympian who set two national records at the Paris Games in the 800m freestyle and 1500m freestyle.

She is the first Singaporean female swimmer do so at the Games since Tao Li (100m backstroke) in 2012.

"(It's) not (been) the easiest journey, but I would say I've learnt so much from my experiences so far and just being able to show up at the biggest meet," she said.

"It's like a dream, sometimes I have to pinch myself (and ask): 'Is this reality?'"

Gan's first attempt at making the Olympics came three years ago.

The long distance specialist had initially received an invitation after meeting a "B" cut time for the 1500m freestyle, but would miss out after compatriot Quah Ting Wen's appeal was successful.

"It's still kind of a blur because everything happened so quickly," she recalled.

"I just remember when everything happened I was in the middle of my common tests in my second year in JC ... Me being me, I always want to excel in everything I do, so at that time, I told myself to shift my focus onto something else. Not brood