Ang Peng Siong

Having trained in swimming since he was young, he made his swimming debut at the 1977 SEA Games and participated at the 1978 Asian Games. Ang's performance at the 1980 Hawaii International Invitational Swimming Championship, where he attained a time of 23.22 seconds in the 50m freestyle, led him to be offered a scholarship and he subsequently attended the University of Houston, where he trained under American coach Phil Hansel from 1980 to 1986. At the 1982 United States Swimming Championships, he set the national record in the 50m freestyle with 22.69 seconds, being named the "World's Fastest Swimmer" by magazine Swimming World. He would make subsequent appearances at the SEA Games and the Asian Games throughout the 1980s to 1990s in swimming.

Upon not receiving sufficient funding for training in the United States for the 1994 Asian Games, Ang announced his retirement from competitive swimming in August 1993. He has since worked as a coach, previously serving as Singapore's head national swimming coach from 1998 to 2012. Ang was ranked fifth in a public poll of Singapore's fifty best sportspeople of the century held by The Straits Times in 1999. He was also named Sportsman of the Year by the Singapore National Olympic Council for three consecutive years from 1982 to 1984.

Early life and education

Ang was born on 27 October 1962 in the State of Singapore, the fourth of five children to Ang Teck Bee and Lily Ho; his father Teck Bee was a judoist who had previously participated in judo at the 1964 Summer Olympics. Ang was taught how to swim at the age of five by his father, who set him on a weight training routine. He studied at Anderson Secondary School while training with swim coaches from Anglo-Chinese School, later moving to Anglo-Chinese School and continuing his education and training with them. Ang first represented Singapore at the 1977 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he won a silver medal in the 4 × 100m freestyle relay. He then participated at the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand.

In 1980, Ang participated at the Hawaii International Invitational Swimming Championship, where he attained a personal best time of 23.22 seconds in the 50m freestyle, placing him fourth in the event. Additionally, Ang was the only non-American swimmer to reach the 50m freestyle finals, and his time ranked him as the world's fifteenth fastest swimmer at the time. As a result of his performance, he received four-year scholarship offers from both the University of Hawaii and the University of Houston. Later that month, Ang participated at the United States Swimming Championships in Indiana, where he won the 50m freestyle in 22.69 seconds, which was a national record; it stood for 33 years before being broken by Joseph Schooling at the 2015 SEA Games.

Ang then represented Singapore at the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi, India, where he won gold in the 100m freestyle and bronze in the 100m butterfly. In October, Ang participated at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia, where he placed fourth in the 100m butterfly. In 1983, Ang won the 50-yard freestyle race at the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division One Swimming Championships. In the following year, he placed second in the same event. In acknowledgement of his efforts, Ang was named Sportsman of the Year by the Singapore National Olympic Council for three consecutive years from 1982 to 1984.

Ang represented Singapore at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, where he participated in the 100m freestyle. He won the 100m freestyle consolation finals, (The first eight fastest swimmers advanced to the finals, or "Final A", while the next eight advanced to the consolation finals, or "Final B".) By placing first in the consolation finals, he placed ninth overall. and it stood as a national record for 27 years, later being broken by Bryan Tay at the 2007 SEA Games with his time of 51.00 seconds.

At the 1985 SEA Games in Bangkok, Thailand, Ang participated in the 100m freestyle, where he won gold with a time of 52.42 seconds. He was named in the Singapore Sport Hall of Fame in 1985, alongside other sportspeople. At the 1986 Asian Games, Ang competed in the 100m freestyle and the 100 m butterfly, where he earned a bronze in the 100m freestyle with his time of 51.09 seconds. He also won bronze in the 4 × 100m freestyle relay alongside David Lim, Tay Khoon Hean, and Oon Jin Gee. That same year, he was drafted into mandatory national service, where he trained at Basic Military Training Centre in Pulau Tekong. Afterwards, he worked as a naval officer, before requesting deferment to participate in the 1988 Summer Olympics, which was granted by the Ministry of Defence. Ang trained in the United States ahead of the Olympics. He had attained the rank of lance-corporal while with the Republic of Singapore Navy.

In April 1988, he participated in the Asian Swimming Championships in Guangzhou, China, where he won Singapore's first gold medal at that competition with a time of 23.12 seconds in the 50m freestyle. In August, he was awarded the Bintang Bakti Masyarakat. Ang won gold in the 100m butterfly and silver in the 100m freestyle. That same year he participated in the 1989 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Tokyo, Japan, in the 50m freestyle, placing fifth overall.

At the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, China, he won silver in the 50m freestyle with a time of 23.30 seconds and bronze in the 4 × 100m freestyle relay alongside Lim, Kenneth Yeo, and Harold Gan, with a time of 3 minutes 31.46 seconds. At the 1991 SEA Games in Manila, Philippines, he won gold in the 50 m freestyle with a time of 23.89 seconds, along with a silver in the 4 × 100m freestyle relay with Lim, Yeo, and Gan, and a bronze in the 4 × 100m medley relay with Lim, Yeo, and Desmond Koh. Ahead of the Games, Shirlynn Ho of The Straits Times wrote that the Singaporean swimming team might not perform well, seeing as their best swimmers, Ang and Lim, were "at the tailend of their careers". Head coach Edmund Lim stated that Ang and Lim would serve more mentor-like roles by supporting the team's newer swimmers.

In 1992, Ang sought sponsorships to fund his swimming training in the United States, ahead of the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan, as he aimed to achieve a gold in the 50 m freestyle. He planned to raise for his training, and he quit his job as a gym and swimming coordinator at the Singapore Island Country Club to focus on it. In 1993, Ang announced his retirement from competitive swimming, stating that "It was time, though there is no right time to retire." In September, Ang set up Swimfast Aquatic School with former water polo player David Lim. In 1995, he set up the Aquatic Performance Swim Club and the Ang Peng Siong Swim School; swimmers he trained through the Aquatic Performance Swim Club include Leslie Kwok and Mark Chay. In 1997, he was named the head coach of Singapore's SEA Games swim team, having previously filled the role in 1995. Beginning in 1998, he served as the head coach of the Singapore national swimming team, a position he held until 2012. In 2000, he participated in the World Aquatics Masters Championships in Munich, Germany, in the 50m freestyle and won gold with a time of 24.25 seconds. He additionally won silver in the 50m butterfly.

In 2001, Ang protested against the SASA's decision to exclude him from the coaches chosen for the 2001 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He stated "how are our swimmers going to reach their optimum levels if they do not even have their personal coaches there with them?", with his protégé swimmer Gary Tan agreeing. SASA administrator Kenneth Chan responded that "there is nothing Ang can do there which the chosen coaches cannot perform". Ang participated in the 2002 World Aquatics Masters Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand, in the 50m butterfly, the 100m freestyle, the 50m freestyle, and the 50m breaststroke. He achieved gold in the 50m butterfly with a time of 26.52 seconds, bronze in the 100m freestyle with a time of 57.42 seconds, gold in the 50m freestyle, and bronze in the 50m breaststroke.

In 2004, he quit his role as the managing director of the Aquatic Performance Swim School to focus on coaching the national team with the Singapore Swimming Association (SSA). At the 2007 SEA Games, two of Ang's national records were broken, namely his 100m freestyle time by Bryan Tay and his time of 56.00 seconds in 100m butterfly by Tan Xue-wei's time of 55.79 seconds. He stated of the occasion that "It's been a great day," and "the two new national records have made it even better". In 2009, he was appointed the national head coach by the SSA for a four-year term. In 2010, he failed to submit the Singapore men's 4 × 200m freestyle relay team in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, leading to their exclusion in that event. Ang apologised for the oversight, while an SSA chief described his mistake as "trivial". Joseph Schooling (pictured) broke Ang's long-standing national record in the 50m freestyle. In 2015, Joseph Schooling broke the 50m freestyle record at the 2015 SEA Games with a time of 22.47 seconds. Ang stated that Schooling was the "most deserving athlete" to have done so. Named the Chiam See Tong Sports Foundation, Ang served as its chairman. It provides financial aid and networking opportunities for athletes. He also appeared in the 2019 short film PS Farrer Park by Ray Pang, a film intended to address the redevelopment of the Farrer Park area. In 2022, after Schooling confessed to cannabis use, Ang spoke about the mental health of athletes. In 2024, he was inducted into the Singapore Aquatics' Hall of Fame for his gold-winning performance at the 1982 Asian Games.

Personal life In 1989, Ang's family and fiancée were robbed of in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He married his fiancée, flight stewardess Wendy, the following year. They have one son.

Ang's father, Ang Teck Bee, died on 12 September 2005 of liver cancer. His brother, Ang Peng Wee, is a swimmer, actor, and coach, who was involved in the 2024 Summer Olympics as a swimming technical official.