Pang Sheng Jun

Pang Sheng Jun (born 1992) is a Singaporean national swimmer. In 2011, Pang won a bronze in the men's 1500m freestyle to become the only other Singaporean to win a medal at the FINA Swimming World Cup.[2] In 2015, he picked up his first individual Southeast Asian Games medal, clinching silver in the 400m individual medley.[3]

Pang Sheng Jun

Personal information
Full name	Pang Sheng Jun[1]
Nickname(s)	PSJ
National team	Singapore
Born	4 September 1992 Singapore
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	73 kg (161 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle, Individual Medley
Medal record Men's swimming Representing  Singapore Event 1st 2nd 3rd FINA Swimming World Cup 0 0 1 Southeast Asian Swimming Championships 2 0 3 Southeast Asian Games 3 2 2 Asian Games 0 0 1 ASEAN University Games 2 0 0 Total 7 2 7 FINA Swimming World Cup 2011 Singapore 1500 m freestyle Southeast Asian Swimming Championships 2012 Singapore 4x200 m freestyle relay 2014 Singapore 4x200 m freestyle relay 2014 Singapore 200 m individual medley 2014 Singapore 400 m individual medley 2014 Singapore 400 m freestyle Southeast Asian Games 2013 Myanmar 4x200 m freestyle relay 2015 Singapore 4x200 m freestyle relay 2017 Malaysia 4x200 m freestyle relay 2015 Singapore 400 m individual medley 2017 Malaysia 200 m individual medley 2015 Singapore 400 m freestyle 2017 Malaysia 400 m individual medley Asian Games 2014 South Korea 4x200 m freestyle relay ASEAN University Games 2016 Singapore 400 m freestyle 2016 Singapore 400 m individual medley

Personal life

Pang is the youngest son of Agnes Ng and Pang Boon Teng. He has two sisters who swam competitively until they were 16 years old when they decided to focus on their studies instead.[4][5]

Pang started swimming from the age of four upon doctor's recommendation due to his asthma. He began competitive swimming at six years old.

In 2014, he received an Outstanding Sports Achievement Award for swimming from the Singapore Sports School.[6]

He is currently a Sports Science and Management student at the Nanyang Technological University and will graduate in 2018.

Career

At the 2009 SEA Games in Laos, Pang, then 17 years old, saw his medal dreams crushed cruelly not once, but twice, when he finished fourth in the men's 200m and 400m individual medleys. He did not give up. Two years later, he was back at the 2011 SEA Games at Jakabaring Aquatics Centre in Palembang, determined to win a medal in his sole event, the 400m freestyle, but finished fifth. That could be said to be his lowest point in his swimming career. He had a near suicidal experience when he climbed up to the highest floor of his apartment building at the Games Village but his teammate and best friend Russell Ong stepped in just as he was about to take his last leap.[5]

Pang admitted that his demons – depression – never really went away, until he won gold with the men's 4x200m freestyle team at the Myanmar SEA Games in 2013.

Despite the disappointment of missing out on the final cut for the 2016 Rio Olympics although he had clocked Olympic 'B' times in the 400m individual medley and freestyle, Pang is now set on winning honours at the 2017 SEA Games in Malaysia, and plans to swim full-time after his graduation in 2018 as he targets an Olympic berth at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

References

1. "PANG SHENG JUN". Singapore Sports Council. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
2. Tan, Les (8 November 2011). "Singapore's Tao Li and Pang Sheng Jun make podium at Swimming World Cup". Red Sports. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
3. Teng, Kiat (9 June 2015). "Pang Sheng Jun ends wait for first individual SEA Games swimming medal". Yahoo. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
4. Tay, Cheryl (22 July 2015). "Singapore #FitFind of the Week: Swimmer Pang Sheng Jun". Yahoo. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
5. Low, Lin Fhoong (24 July 2016). "Returning from the brink, swimmer Pang targets glory in 2017". Today. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
6. Singh, Bryna (15 October 2014). "National swimmer Pang Sheng Jun picks himself up after low point following 2011 SEA Games defeat". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2016-08-01.