Famous Athletes from Singapore
Updated June 15, 2019 40.3K views67 items
List of famous athletes from Singapore, listed alphabetically with photos when available. Singapore has seen some very talented athletes over the years, many of who have gone on to represent their country in the Olympics. These are some of the best Singaporean athletes of all time, so if you're a native of Singapore and are aspiring to compete in sports professionally then these are people you should look up to. If you're searching for a particular popular athlete from Singapore then you can use the "search" box to find who you're looking for.
List includes Nicholas Chan, Jing Junhong, more.
This list answers the questions, "Who are the greatest Singaporean athletes?" and "Which athletes are from Singapore?"
You can click on the names of these legendary athletes of Singapore in order to get more information about each one.Ranked by
- Zhang Guirong (born 5 February 1978) is a Singaporean shot putter. She changed nationality from China in late 2003. Her personal best throw is 18.57 metres, achieved at the 2005 Asian Championships in Incheon. This is the current Singaporean record. She is also the national record holder in discus throw and javelin throw.
- Feng Tianwei PJG (simplified Chinese: 冯天薇; traditional Chinese: 馮天薇; pinyin: Féng Tiānwēi, pronounced [fə̌ŋ tjɛ́nwéi]) is a Singapore table tennis player. She moved to Singapore under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme in March 2007 and commenced her international career in competitive table tennis the following month. Feng represented Singapore for the first time in the Olympic Games at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. On 15 August 2008, the Singapore team comprising Feng and her teammates Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu defeated South Korea 3–2 in the semifinals. The team lost to China in the final, obtaining the silver medal. This was Singapore's first Olympic medal in 48 years and its first as an independent nation. On 30 May 2010, the trio of Feng Tianwei, Wang Yuegu and Sun Beibei stunned the reigning champions China 3–1 in the Liebherr World Team Table Tennis Championships in Moscow, making Singapore world champion for the first time. On 1 August 2012, Feng defeated Kasumi Ishikawa of Japan 4–0 to win the women's singles bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Singapore's first Olympic singles medal since the 1960 Summer Olympics. On 7 August 2012, she was part of the women's team with Li and Wang that achieved the bronze against South Korea. This was the first time Singapore had won two medals at an Olympic Games. On 15 March 2015, Feng defeated Zhu Yuling and Liu Shiwen at the 2015 Asian Cup in Jaipur to be crowned Asian Cup Champion for the first time. At the same time, she broke China's 7 consecutive years of dominance in this tournament. On 25 October 2016, the Singapore Table Tennis Association announced that it would not be renewing its contract with Feng, citing the need for rejuvenation of the national team. However, STTA has confirmed to support her for future international competitions if she meets the selection criteria.
- Singapore national football team
- Birthplace: Great Yarmouth, United Kingdom
- Nationality: Singapore, England
- Position: Defender
Daniel Mark Bennett (born 7 January 1978) is a professional footballer who plays for the Singapore national team and for Tampines Rovers in the S.League as a defender mainly in central defence. A versatile player who is a strong reader of the game, allowing him to make crucial interceptions despite not being blessed with great pace, Bennett is also known for his trademark long-range free kicks. Bennett took up Singaporean citizenship in September 2002 under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme to play international football for Singapore. With 142 caps for Singapore, he currently holds the national record for the most international matches played. - Tao Li (Chinese: 陶李; pinyin: Táo Lǐ; born 10 January 1990) is a Singaporean competitive swimmer who specializes in the backstroke and butterfly. Tao has represented Singapore at the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), the Asian Games, World Championship, Commonwealth Games and Olympics. She holds several national records.In fact, she's the only female Singapore swimmer who qualified for an Olympic Finals. At the 2005 SEA Games in the Philippines, at just 15, she won 4 golds and a bronze. She reached the finals of the women's 50 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres butterfly events at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne though she did not win any medal. In December 2006, Tao won gold at the 50 metres butterfly in Doha's 2006 Asian Games, beating China's multi-gold medallist Xu Yanwei and breaking her own national record in the process. She was Singapore's most medalled athlete at the 2007 SEA Games in Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat), Thailand, winning four gold medals. Earlier in the year, she became the first Singaporean female swimmer to reach a FINA World Aquatics Championships final, finishing seventh in the 50 metres butterfly. Tao made her Olympic début for Singapore at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She qualified in the 100 metres finals, ranking fourth in the semifinals with a time of 57.54 seconds and setting two Asian records in two days. She thus became the first Singaporean swimmer to qualify in an Olympic final. She emerged fifth at the women's 100 metres butterfly finals with a time of 57.99 seconds.
- Li Jiawei (Chinese: 李佳薇; pinyin: Lǐ Jiāwēi; born 9 August 1981) is a Chinese-born Singaporean former table tennis player, four-time Olympian and twice Olympic medalist. She trained in Beijing's famous Shichahai Sports School with Olympic medalist Zhang Yining. In 1995, she moved to Singapore and in the following year, she commenced her international career as a competitive table tennis player. She became a Singapore citizen at the age of 18 years under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme. Li's highest world singles ranking was in December 2005, when she was placed third. Li was also a key player for the Singaporean women's team and doubles, and mixed doubles events, having participated in three Olympics and achieving a medal for the latter two. She finished in fourth place in singles at both the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing at which she was an official flagbearer. On 15 August 2008, the Singapore women's team composed of Li and her teammates Feng Tianwei and Wang Yuegu defeated South Korea 3–2 in the semifinals. However, in the finals on 17 August, the team lost to China and earned a silver medal, marking the first time that Singapore had won an Olympic medal since the nation's independence in 1965. The momentous occasion came 48 years after Tan Howe Liang won the country's first medal, a silver in weightlifting at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Li ended 2008 on a high, winning gold in the women's team event with Feng and Wang at the ITTF Pro Tour ERKE German Open in Berlin in November, and in the doubles with Sun Beibei at the ITTF Volkswagen Pro Tour Grand Finals in Macau in December 2008. Li won the women's team bronze medal with Feng and Wang at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Soon after, she announced her retirement from competitive sports on 27 December 2012.
- Charles Herbert Twissell (born 16 December 1932) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger.
