Everything About Jonathan Chan, The First S’porean Diver to Qualify for Olympics

Time and time again, Singapore has proven that it’s much more than a mere atas financial hub, with local-bred talents who’ve made the nation proud:

• Nathan Hartono
• Joseph Schooling
• Ben Davis

“Errr… I don’t think Ben Davis qualifies,” my editor argues. “Since he’s technically bailing out on NS now and all.”

Oh, right, I forgot.

• Ben Davis Steven Lim

“Erm I don’t think-”

“Anyone wanna get six pack abs like me?” Steven Lim says as he arrives in a tight pink leotard.

“Well deserved,” my editor applauds. “Top pick for me. But hey, shouldn’t there be another guy on the list?”

“Who, Kurt Tay?” quips Steven Lim as he sits down beside our editor.

“N-Not quite….” my editor mumbles as the local megastar makes himself comfortable. “You know, that diver who made history.”

Oh yeah, how could I have forgotten? The first-ever Singaporean diver to qualify for the Olympics… the man, the hunk…

Jonathan Chan.

Everything About Jonathan Chan, the First S’porean Diver to Qualify for Olympics

In 2016, Joseph Schooling made history by attaining Singapore’s first-ever Olympic medal in swimming.

And in 2019, Jonathan Chan made history…

By becoming the first-ever Singaporean diver to qualify for the Olympics.

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Jonathan won gold in the 10m finals at the 8th Asian Diving Cup in Kuala Lumpur. As the continental champion, Jonathan earns Singapore a place in the 10m event at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. First diver to qualify for the Olympics in the history of Singapore Diving!

A post shared by Singapore Diving (@singaporediving) on Sep 8, 2019 at 7:20am PDT

On Sunday 8 September 2019, Chan beat China’s Wang Zewei and North Korea’s Ri Kwon Hyuk to win the Men’s 10m Platform final at the Asian Diving Cup and claimed the gold medal at the Bukit Jalil National Aquatic Centre in Malaysia

He scored an overall total of 407.90, with Wang trailing close behind at 393.45 points and Ri with 347.25 to clinch the bronze.

The top diver in each event at the Asian Diving Cup will automatically qualify for the Olympics.

The First Singaporean To Qualify For The Olympics Next Year

In addition to becoming the first-ever Singaporean diver to qualify for the Olympics, Chan has also become the first Singaporean to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics next year.

The 22-year-old had previously competed at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, and finished with two silvers as well as two bronzes at the 2017 Sea Games.

In a statement on Sunday, the diver professed that he was still in disbelief, expressing that he was “speechless and still trying to let the reality sink in.”

“I hope that I will be the first of many more divers to qualify. And to inspire my teammates to work towards qualification as well so that we can go together to Tokyo,” he added.

And So… What Now?

A second-year student at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, Chan had originally aimed to qualify for the Olympics at next April’s Fina Diving World Cup. But as abilities would have it…

He didn’t have to wait that long.

For now, however, Chan has expressed his intention to maintain his winning form, but admitted that it will be challenging as school starts next week.

“There’s less pressure on qualifying now, but more pressure on maintaining my consistency,” he said.

“This dream of qualifying for the Olympics only came within reach in the last few years. It’ll require a lot of discipline, but I’ll make more sacrifices when it comes to competitions.”

Well, good luck, Jonathan!! Joseph Schooling might’ve hogged the headlines back in 2016…

But 2020’s still up for grabs. 😉

Singapore boleh!