Patricia Chan Li-Yin (陈丽燕; born 12 April 1954), popularly known as Pat Chan and the "Golden Girl", is a retired swimmer from Singapore. Between 1965 and 1973 she won 39 gold medals at

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...

, which was the best achievement for a Singaporean athlete in any sport until 2005. She competed in eight events at the

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

and

1970 Asian Games The 6th Asian Games () were held from 9 to 20 December 1970 in Bangkok, Thailand.- - Seoul, South Korea, had been selected to host the 6th Games but it declined due to both financial reasons and security threats from neighboring North Korea. (T ...

and won 3 silver and 5 bronze medals. At the 1970 Games she set a national record in the 200 m backstroke that stood for 23 years. At the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

she was the flag bearer for Singapore and competed in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke events, but failed to reach the finals. Chan was named the Best Sportswoman of Singapore for five consecutive years (1967–1971). In 2002, she was inducted into the Singapore Sports Council Hall of Fame and ranked fourth among Singapore's 50 greatest athletes. Chan retired from competitions in 1973, aged 19, to become the first Singaporean female professional coach. She later turned to journalism, and currently runs her own media company, Visus Inq.

Family

Patricia and her siblings were coached by their father, Chan Ah Kow, the Singaporean Coach of the Year in 1970 and 1971. Her brother Roy Chan Kum Wah, won a bronze medal at the

in the 4×200 m relay. Her two other brothers, Alex Chan Meng Wah and Bernard Chan Cheng Wah, were swimmers too; the latter competed at the

1966 Asian Games The 1966 Asian Games (), also known as the V Asiad, were a continental multi-sport event that was held from 9 to 20 December 1966, in Bangkok, Thailand. A total of 142 events in 16 sports were contested by athletes during the games. Taiwan and Isr ...

and

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

. Her other brother

Mark Chan Mark Chan (born 1958) is a Singaporean composer, recording artist, singer, instrumentalist, poet, and painter. He studied fine arts at the Edinburgh College of Art

is a composer, while her elder sister,

Victoria Chan-Palay Victoria Lye-Hua Chan-Palay (born 9 October 1945) is a Singaporean-born neuroscientist who has worked in the United States and Switzerland. Early life and education Chan is the second daughter of noted Singaporean swimming coach Dr. Chan Ah Kow. ...

is a prominent neuroscientist in the United States and Switzerland. Her niece,

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

, is an international swimmer.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Patricia 1954 births Living people Singaporean sportspeople of Chinese descent Singaporean female backstroke swimmers Olympic swimmers of Singapore Swimmers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Asian Games silver medalists for Singapore Asian Games bronze medalists for Singapore Asian Games medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 1966 Asian Games Swimmers at the 1970 Asian Games Medalists at the 1966 Asian Games Medalists at the 1970 Asian Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Singapore Swimmers at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Singaporean female freestyle swimmers Singaporean female medley swimmers Southeast Asian Games gold medalists for Singapore Southeast Asian Games medalists in swimming Competitors at the 1971 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games