Called up last-minute: How 14-year-old Julia Yeo helped Singapore win SEA Games gold

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0 January 28, 2026 20:15

She wasn’t supposed to swim that race.

At just 14, national swimmer Julia Yeo was called up at the last minute to replace an injured teammate in Singapore’s 4x100m medley relay at the SEA Games in Bangkok, with no time at all to warm up.

The result was a gold medal. Days earlier, Julia had also broken Tao Li’s long-standing national record in the women’s 200m backstroke.

Julia and her coach Jerome Teo look back on the chaos, the preparation behind it and how she’s staying grounded after a breakthrough moment. Read her story: https://cna.asia/49IwWpG

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