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Swimmer profile / Liew Wei En

Evan Liew.

Evan is the one who drew me back into competitive swimming, this time from the spectator stand. What began as proper lessons with my old coach in 2024 has turned into squad training, meet days and a growing list of things to work on after every race.

Evan in a blue swim parka, cap and goggles at a swimming venue.
Evan, picture taken during SAQ SwimFaster Sept 2026.

01 / Before the clock

The story so far.

When I took Evan and Sarah back to Uncle Jack in 2024, I thought they would learn to swim properly with the same coach who had taught me some thirty years earlier. Then Jack suggested that Evan try a competitive squad, which led to two months of research, conversations with old friends from the swimming world and a rather different family calendar. Evan started training with AquaTech on 2 January 2026 and moved up to the Age Group Squad that July.

The changes are difficult to spot when I watch from the stand every day, but old videos make them obvious. His dive is much cleaner than it used to be; of course, that only gives us more to look at, from his starts and turns to the underwater work and breakout. Swimming has a way of letting you fix one thing before pointing out another three.

At SSC WJISC in November, Evan dropped time in all five of his individual races and finished third in the 100 m backstroke. The biggest change was that backstroke swim, down 24.40 seconds to 1:30.48, with another 22.88 seconds coming off his 100 m breaststroke. The medal was lovely, but seeing the work show up across every individual event was the better summary of his weekend.

Read the original Instagram post ↗

02 / Right now

Current focus.

Evan's five individual swims at SSC WJISC were all PBs. His 100 m backstroke is now the closest of the optional Youth Squad times at 1:30.48, while the required 100 m freestyle and 200 m individual medley have moved to 1:21.94 and 3:17.70.

03 / The goal

Squad targets.

The Youth Squad requirement I am tracking is his 100 m freestyle and 200 m individual medley, plus one other 100 m event. The three possible strokes sit alongside those two required swims here, which makes it easier to see where each one stands after the next meet.

Target: Youth Squad · boys · LCM entry times supplied by Dad. The comparison uses record eligible PBs; Shocktober practice results are shown separately.

100 FR

Required
Entry time1:13.51
Official PB1:21.94

8.43s to go

200 IM

Required
Entry time2:58.77
Official PB3:17.70

18.93s to go

100 BA

Choose one
Entry time1:25.12
Official PB1:30.48

5.36s to go

100 BR

Choose one
Entry time1:31.33
Official PB1:42.88

11.55s to go

100 FLY

Choose one
Entry time1:20.26
Official PB1:34.73

14.47s to go

04 / The clock

Personal bests.

These are the fastest record eligible LCM times in the results we have entered so far, with the meet and date range shown beside each one. The exact race day within a multi-day meet was not on the progression sheets, so I have kept the meet dates as they were provided.

EventTimeMeetDate
50 FR35.30Pesta Sukan19–21 Jun 2026
50 BA45.42Pesta Sukan19–21 Jun 2026
50 BR50.29Pesta Sukan19–21 Jun 2026
50 FLY39.96Pesta Sukan19–21 Jun 2026
100 FR1:21.94SSC WJISC7–8 Nov 2026
100 BA1:30.48SSC WJISC7–8 Nov 2026
100 BR1:42.88SSC WJISC7–8 Nov 2026
100 FLY1:34.73SSC WJISC7–8 Nov 2026
200 FR3:02.88Swimfaster4–5 Sep 2026
200 BR3:50.63Swimfaster4–5 Sep 2026
200 IM3:17.70SSC WJISC7–8 Nov 2026
400 FR6:39.66Swimfaster4–5 Sep 2026

Practice meet highlights

These faster times were tracked at Shocktober on 10 Oct 2026. The meet was unsanctioned, so they are not listed as record eligible PBs.

  • 50 FR 35.17
  • 50 BA 44.71
  • 50 BR 47.40
  • 50 FLY 37.99

05 / Race days

Meet history.

The results sheets tell me what happened in the water, but a meet day is also a lot of waiting, eating, getting ready and finding your way back to the marshalling area at the right time. I am keeping the races together by meet here so the sequence still makes sense when we look back on it later.

  1. 2 Nov 2025

    SWIM2000

    4 events · LCM

    • 50 FR 43.00
    • 50 BA 58.00
    • 50 BR 1:06.00
    • 50 FLY 1:02.00

  2. 28 Feb–1 Mar 2026

    Swimfaster

    8 events · LCM

    • 50 FR 37.80
    • 50 BA 53.07
    • 50 BR 54.19
    • 50 FLY 51.07
    • 100 FR 1:35.05
    • 100 BA 1:54.88
    • 100 BR 2:05.76
    • 100 FLY 2:08.12

  3. 14 Apr 2026

    NSG

    2 events · LCM

    • 50 FR 37.61
    • 50 BR 52.21

  4. 19–21 Jun 2026

    Pesta Sukan

    5 events · LCM

    • 50 FR 35.30
    • 50 BA 45.42
    • 50 BR 50.29
    • 50 FLY 39.96
    • 200 IM 3:28.54

  5. 4–5 Sep 2026

    Swimfaster

    5 events · LCM

    • 100 FLY 1:42.52
    • 200 IM 3:26.94
    • 200 FR 3:02.88
    • 200 BR 3:50.63
    • 400 FR 6:39.66

  6. 10 Oct 2026

    Shocktober

    Practice · unsanctioned

    4 events · LCM

    • 50 FR 35.17
    • 50 BA 44.71
    • 50 BR 47.40
    • 50 FLY 37.99

  7. 7–8 Nov 2026

    SSC WJISC

    6 events · LCM

    • 200 IM 3:17.70
    • 100 BR 1:42.88
    • 100 FLY 1:34.73
    • 200 MEDLEY RELAY 2:52.58
    • 100 BA 1:30.48
    • 100 FR 1:21.94
    Read the meet story ↗

06 / Over time

The progression.

A PB table gives you the latest number but hides the swims that came before it. These small charts put each repeated event back in order, including the Shocktober practice times as hollow points; higher on a chart means faster, although the numbers underneath remain the better way to read the actual improvement.

50 FR LCM

  1. SWIM2000 · 2 Nov 202543.00
  2. Swimfaster · 28 Feb–1 Mar 202637.80
  3. NSG · 14 Apr 202637.61
  4. Pesta Sukan · 19–21 Jun 202635.30
  5. Shocktober · 10 Oct 2026 (practice)35.17

50 BA LCM

  1. SWIM2000 · 2 Nov 202558.00
  2. Swimfaster · 28 Feb–1 Mar 202653.07
  3. Pesta Sukan · 19–21 Jun 202645.42
  4. Shocktober · 10 Oct 2026 (practice)44.71

50 BR LCM

  1. SWIM2000 · 2 Nov 20251:06.00
  2. Swimfaster · 28 Feb–1 Mar 202654.19
  3. NSG · 14 Apr 202652.21
  4. Pesta Sukan · 19–21 Jun 202650.29
  5. Shocktober · 10 Oct 2026 (practice)47.40

50 FLY LCM

  1. SWIM2000 · 2 Nov 20251:02.00
  2. Swimfaster · 28 Feb–1 Mar 202651.07
  3. Pesta Sukan · 19–21 Jun 202639.96
  4. Shocktober · 10 Oct 2026 (practice)37.99

100 FR LCM

  1. Swimfaster · 28 Feb–1 Mar 20261:35.05
  2. SSC WJISC · 7–8 Nov 20261:21.94

100 BA LCM

  1. Swimfaster · 28 Feb–1 Mar 20261:54.88
  2. SSC WJISC · 7–8 Nov 20261:30.48

100 BR LCM

  1. Swimfaster · 28 Feb–1 Mar 20262:05.76
  2. SSC WJISC · 7–8 Nov 20261:42.88

100 FLY LCM

  1. Swimfaster · 28 Feb–1 Mar 20262:08.12
  2. Swimfaster · 4–5 Sep 20261:42.52
  3. SSC WJISC · 7–8 Nov 20261:34.73

200 IM LCM

  1. Pesta Sukan · 19–21 Jun 20263:28.54
  2. Swimfaster · 4–5 Sep 20263:26.94
  3. SSC WJISC · 7–8 Nov 20263:17.70