Swimmer Julia Yeo, 15, not getting carried away despite SEA Games gold and national record

SINGAPORE: Speaking to 15-year-old national swimmer Julia Yeo, one might easily mistake her for any other teenager – soft-spoken, seemingly shy, and sporting a cheerful smile.

But once she pulls on her goggles and prepares to dive into the pool, that demeanour fades.

Her smile is replaced by intense focus. In the water, her strokes are smooth, controlled and unmistakably aggressive, as she completes lap after lap of backstroke. 

That intensity was on display at the recent SEA Games, where the Singapore Sports School (SSP) student helped the women’s 4x100m medley relay team clinch gold, despite being called up at the last minute.

Speaking to CNA, Yeo and her coach, Jerome Teo, recounted the moments leading up to her gold medal swim on Dec 15 last year, when she was just 14.

Teo said his mind began racing when he received a call from Singapore Aquatics informing him that Yeo would replace injured swimmer Levenia Sim in the backstroke leg.

“A few things that went through my mind (was that) this is actually real, and then I thought that Singapore has won it so many times, and she’s the (first) swimmer, and so the pressure is on,” the 35-year-old said.

Yeo did not have her equipment, borrowing everything from goggles to her swimsuit from her teammates. It was also her teammates who helped calm her nerves.

“The seniors encouraged me a lot, because I feel like without them, I wouldn't be able to still go so close to my personal best,” she said.

With no time to warm up, Teo gave Yeo the confidence that she was ready to take on the best in the region.

“What I can do is put the pressure on me, and less pressure on her, then just try to get her ready,” he said.

The rest, as they say, is history. The quartet – Julia Yeo, Quah Ting Wen, Quah