By Les Tan/Red Sports. With additional research by Erwin Wong/Red Sports

oldies but goodies swimming group


The Oldies But Goodies at the 2012 Singapore Masters Swimming Championships on October 21st, 2012. (Photo 1 courtesy of Lim Shyong Piau)

Front (L-R) : Dorothy Peck, Lim Shyong Piau, Ng Yue Meng, Freda Yeo, Lee Chui Leng, Lam Shiao Ning, Joanne Lee, Christina Tham, Kelvin Yew, Lim Yi Shenn
Middle (L-R) : Terence Wee, Amos Mok, Evan Lim Chee Meng, Jeffrey Chiang, Loh Kok Leong, Colin Lee, Lim Chee Kiong, Jenny Chiang
Back (L-R) : Chong Kah Meng, Lim Yi Maw, Irving Ng, Wan Tze Yang, Jay Chan, Kenneth Yeo, Kenny Nai

 

A friend of mine, Jeffrey Chiang, sent me a Facebook message one day. He said a bunch of ex-national and school swimmers like himself were coming together to take part in the 2012 Singapore Masters Swimming Championships.

I was intrigued.

So I picked up my camera and headed down to Toa Payoh Swimming Complex on Sunday, October 21st, to see them. Some of the swimmers I had only read about in years past, so it was a chance to see them ‘live’ in action.

By the end of the competition, the group of 24 swimmers, known as the Oldies But Goodies, had won themselves 16 gold, seven silver, and six bronze medals as they turned back the clock. What made it all the more special for some was that they were swimming competitively for the first time in front of wives and children.

I checked back with my crew mate Erwin Wong, and he came up with some statistical nuggets.

One of the founding members of the group is Ng Yue Meng, a name that will ring a bell for those who follow the Singapore swimming scene. Yue Meng swam for Singapore in the 1988 Seoul Olympics where he set a national record in the 100m breaststroke.

Yue Meng was our last male breaststroke swimmer to win a gold medal at the South-east Asian (SEA) Games. At the 1989 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games, he won the 100m Breaststroke in a then national record of 1 minute 5.28 seconds.

Yue Meng was also part of the 4x100m medley relay quartet to win the gold at the 1987 and 1989 SEA Games, the last two times the men’s medley team won gold. In a three-year span from 1986-1989, Yue Meng set 10 new 100m breaststroke national records.

Another of the founding members is Irving Ng, who is the unofficial coach of the group. Irving went to the 1989 SEA Games and came back with the 4x200m freestyle relay gold and 100m backstroke silver. Irving has held various national Under-17 and U-14 records in his time.

Another ex-national swimmer is Kenneth Yeo who, over the course of three SEA Games (1989 to 1993), won two relay golds, one silver, and five bronze medals.

On the ladies side, there is Christina Tham who went to the 1981 SEA Games and won a 4x100m medley silver. Two years later, she won a 200m breaststroke silver at the 1983 edition of the Games.

I caught up with Lim Shyong Piau to find out more about the Oldies But Goodies. Piau, a former Anglo-Chinese School and Temasek Junior College swimmer, is also one of the founding members of the group.

Les Tan: Who were the founding members and what was the motivation to start the group?
Lim Shyong Piau: The founding members were myself, Ng Yue Meng, Irving Ng and Kelvin Yew. We initially started this with the intention of keeping ourselves fit, and exercising together. It evolved quickly into a fitness and social event as we got more and more ex-swimmers to join us. Irving came up with the name OBG – Oldies But Goodies. The only criteria was that one had to have or about to have the Eldershield letter from CPF!

Les: When did the group start training together?
Piau: We started in early July and it started off with once a week Saturday morning swim. Less than two months into this, the group grew in size and everyone became serious about the Masters Swimming competition. We upped the ante with Wednesday evening training and added Monday evenings as we got closer to the October 21st date.

Les: How has the training been like?
Piau: Irving is the de facto coach and he would come up with the training program two days before a training session. Obviously each of us was at different fitness level, so everything is done on a best-effort basis. But we always ended each session with something fun like a chug-n-go relay. We also have the occasional time trials which provided a great forum for trash-talking and boosting of egos!

Les: What’s the next goal for the group?
Piau: Our next goal is to take part in the Hong Kong Masters (short-course) in late Jan 2013. The longer-term goal is to stay healthy and fit, age actively, enjoy the wonderful camaraderie, and compete at the ripe old age of 80 and telling grandfather swimming stories to our grandchildren!