Ang Peng Siong[a] (born 27 October 1962) is a Singaporean former competitive swimmer and coach. A two-time Olympian, Ang set national records in swimming for the 50 m freestyle at 22.69 seconds and the 100 m freestyle at 51.09 seconds, both of which stood for more than three decades before being broken by Joseph Schooling at the 2015 SEA Games and 2016 Summer Olympics, respectively.
Having trained in swimming since young, Ang first gained prominence for his performance at the 1980 Hawaii International Invitational Swimming Championship, where he attained a time of 23.22 seconds in the 50 m freestyle, placing fourth. He was subsequently offered a scholarship and 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 would set the national record in the 50 m 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 list of Singapore's fifty best sportspeople of the century 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 Colony of Singapore, the fourth of five children to Ang Teck Bee and Lily Ho;[2] 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 had placed him on strict weight training routines. He studied at Anderson Secondary School while receiving training from swim coaches of 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 × 100 m freestyle relay, establishing himself as a noted swimmer. He then participated at the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand.[3]
Ang made his international debut in 1980 at the Hawaii International Invitational Swimming Championship, where he attained a personal best timing of 23.22 seconds in the 50 m freestyle, placing him fourth in the event. Additionally, Ang was the only non-American swimmer to reach the 50 m freestyle finals and his timing ranked him as the world's fifteenth fastest swimmer at the time. As a result of his performance, he was offered a four-year scholarship from both the University of Hawaii and the University of Houston.[4][3] Ang subsequently took up the University of Houston's scholarship, where he trained under American swimming coach Phil Hansel from 1980 to 1986.[5][3]
Career
Competitive swimming career
In 1982, Ang participated at the United States Swimming Championships in Indiana, where he won the 50 m freestyle in 22.69 seconds, becoming a national record; it stood for 33 years before being broken by Joseph Schooling at the 2015 SEA Games.[6] For his achievement, he was named the "World's Fastest Swimmer" that year by magazine Swimming World. He had also previously set his personal best in 100 m freestyle in Ecuador, with a time of 52.26 seconds.[7][8] Ang then represented Singapore at the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi, India, where he won gold in the 100 m freestyle and bronze in the 100 m butterfly.[6][9] In 1983, Ang won the 50-yard freestyle race at the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division One Swimming Championships. The following year, he placed second in the NCAA's Division One Swimming Championship of the 50-yard freestyle race. 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.[10]
Ang represented Singapore at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, where he participated in the 100 m freestyle. He won the 100 m freestyle consolation finals, placing ninth overall in the event. With a timing of 51.09 seconds, it would be his new personal best in 100 m freestyle, along with standing as a national record for 32 years, only being broken by Schooling at the 2016 Summer Olympics with his time of 50.39 seconds.[6][8][11] That same year, it was reported that he switched majors from physical education to recreation as he "[didn't] want to have to spend more time [in the United States] than [he had] to." He was also training to participate in the upcoming SEA Games in Bangkok, Thailand.[12]
In April 1988, he participated in the Asian Swimming Championships in Guangzhou, China, where he won Singapore's first gold medal at that event with a time of 23.12 seconds in the 50 m freestyle.[18] In September, at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, Ang participated in the 50 m freestyle. He would place ninth, one spot away from qualifying for the finals, with his time of 23.09 seconds; he placed third in the consolation finals with a time of 23.39 seconds. In an interview with The Straits Times, he stated that he was "disappointed that despite all the hard work, [he] did not qualify for the 50m freestyle final", but also shut down rumours of his retirement following his performance.[19][8]
At the 1989 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, he participated in the 50 m freestyle, 100 m freestyle, 100 m butterfly, 4 × 100 m freestyle, and 4 × 100 medley relays.[20] Ang would win gold in the 100 m butterfly and silver in the 100 m freestyle.[21] That same year he participated in the 1989 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Tokyo, Japan, in the 50 m freestyle, placing fifth overall.[22] At the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, China, he would win silver in the 50 m freestyle with a time of 23.30 seconds and bronze in the 4 × 100 m relay alongside Lim, Kenneth Yeo, and Harold Gan, with a time of 3 minutes 31.46 seconds.[23] At the 1991 SEA Games in Manila, Philippines, he would win gold in the 50 m freestyle with a time of 23.89 seconds, along with a silver in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay with Lim, Yeo, and Gan, and a bronze in the 4 × 100 m medley relay with Lim, Yeo, and Desmond Koh.[24]
In 1992, Ang requested for sponsorships to fund his swimming training in the United States, ahead of the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan, as he planned to achieve a gold in the 50 m freestyle. He had also quit his job as a gym and swimming coordinator at the Singapore Island Country Club to focus on his training.[25] However, this came with concerns that his age would prevent him from performing at his peak timings from 1982.[26] Coaches from the Singapore Amateur Swimming Association (SASA) agreed that such a performance would be unobtainable.[27] On the other hand, fellow swimmers Steven Cheak, Eadelin Lim, and Gan supported his endeavour,[28] along with fans of Ang.[29] By 1993, he planned to raise S$75,000(1993)(US$46,416.9) for his training, but found himself not willing to accept the sponsors he received. Thus, in August, Ang announced his retirement from competitive swimming, stating that "it was time, though there is no right time to retire."[30][8]
Post-competitive career
In January 1994, Ang decided to venture into business and joined swimwear business TYR Sport.[31] In September, Ang set up Swimfast Aquatic School with former water polo player David Lim.[32] In 1995, he set up the Aquatic Performance Swim School in Farrer Park; notable swimmers he trained through the Aquatic Performance Swim School include Leslie Kwok and Mark Chay.[8] He also set up the Ang Peng Siong Swim School that same year.[33][34] In 1997, he was named the head coach of Singapore's SEA Games swim team, having previously filled the role in 1995.[35] Beginning in 1998, he would serve as the head coach of the Singapore national swimming team, a position he would hold until 2012.[6] He was ranked fifth in a public poll of Singapore's best sportspeople of the century held by The Straits Times in 1999.[36] In 2000, he participated in the World Aquatics Masters Championships in Munich, Germany, in the 50 m freestyle and achieved a gold with a timing of 24.25 seconds. He additionally got a silver in the 50 m butterfly.[37]
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."[38] Ang participated in the 2002 World Aquatics Masters Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand, in the 50 m butterfly , the 100 m freestyle, the 50 m freestyle, and the 50 m breaststroke. He achieved gold in the 50 m butterfly with a timing of 26.52 seconds, bronze in the 100 m freestyle with a timing of 57.42 seconds,[39] gold in the 50 m freestyle,[40] and bronze in the 50 m breaststroke.[41]
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).[8] In 2006, Ang was confirmed to be a part of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports' Sporting Culture Committee and spoke about improving sports-related education.[42] At the 2007 SEA Games, two of Ang's national records were broken, namely his timing of 51.09 seconds in 4 × 100 m freestyle by Bryan Tay's time of 51.00 seconds and his timing of 56.00 seconds in 100 m 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."[43] In 2009, he was appointed the national head coach by the SSA for a four-year term.[44] He was involved in a controversy in 2010 when he failed to submit the Singapore men's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, leading to their exclusion in that event. Ang apologised for the oversight, while an SSA chief described it as a "trivial mistake".[45][46][47]
In 2013, he tipped swimmer Darren Lim to be likely to surpass his national record of 22.69 seconds in the 50 m freestyle at the 2013 SEA Games.[48] Instead, Joseph Schooling would break the 50 m freestyle record at the 2015 SEA Games with a timing of 22.47 seconds. Ang stated that Schooling was the "most deserving athlete" to have done so.[49][6] The following year, at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Schooling would break another of Ang's record, namely his 100 m freestyle record of 51.09 seconds with his time of 50.39 seconds.[6][11] In 2017, Ang would be involved in the foundation of a charity organisation set up by politician Chiam See Tong. Named the Chiam See Tong Sports Fund, Ang was a chairman of the fund in 2019.[50][51] 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.[52]
Personal life
In 1989, Ang's family and fiancée were robbed of S$36,000(1989)(US$18,459.09) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[53] He would marry his fiancée, flight stewardess Wendy Lee Wun Deng, the following year.[54] They have one son.[55] His father, Ang Teck Bee, died on 12 September 2005 of liver cancer.[56] His brother, Ang Peng Wee, is a swimmer, actor, and coach, who was involved in the 2024 Summer Olympics.[57]
↑"Singapore's Ang Wins Third Medal". The Straits Times. 28 March 2002. p.3. Retrieved 22 November 2025– via NewspaperSG. ANG PENG SIONG, 40, collected his third medal at the World Masters Swimming Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand, yesterday. He was third in the 50 metres breaststroke, touching the wall in 32.27sec after Russia's Roman Petrov (30.96) and Bulgaria's Anton Mihaylov (31.33).
↑Lee, Mike (28 March 2010). "Sports For A Growing Child". The Straits Times. p.15. Retrieved 22 November 2025– via NewspaperSG. Inspired by his late father, an accomplished sportsman, champion swimmer Ang Peng Siong also wants to give his little son an opportunity to grow up with sports.
↑Tan, Yo-Hinn (13 September 2005). "Coaching great Ang Teck Bee dies". Today. p.45. Retrieved 22 November 2025– via NewspaperSG. One of the country's greatest coaching figures, Ang Teck Bee, died yesterday morning after suffering from liver cancer. Ang, father of Singapore's most famous swimmer Ang Peng Siong, was 84.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
