Swimmer profile / Liew Wei Xuan
Sarah Liew.
Sarah is my second competitive swimmer, and she has made the pool her own in a way that is quite different from Evan. She found her people at AquaTech almost immediately, and the friendships have become as much a part of her swimming life as the training.
01 / Before the clock
The story so far.
When Uncle Jack first suggested competitive swimming for Sarah, I had my doubts. She had the physical ability, but the confidence and resilience that racing asks for were still developing. She joined AquaTech in March 2026, and before long she had close friends on the team, a few younger swimmers she treated like sisters and a birthday invitation list that seemed to consist almost entirely of swim teammates.
She is still learning how to push through the uncomfortable parts of training, but she keeps turning up and doing the hours. I do not want the times on this page to flatten that into a neat upward line: the more interesting part, at least from where I stand, is how she is finding her place in the team while learning to compete.
Shocktober was a good reminder that there is more to a meet than the clock. The haze meant the 100 m events had to be dropped, but Sarah had been preparing for the bottle flip relay with a level of seriousness usually reserved for a final, and watching the kids plan their strategy together was probably my favourite part of the day.
SSC WJISC brought Sarah's 100 m freestyle down by 11.53 seconds to 1:37.66, enough to meet the Age Group Squad entry time for that event. She also improved her 50 m freestyle and backstroke, while the 100 m backstroke ended in a DQ. Hopefully that lesson stays with her, alongside the much happier memories of spending the weekend and gala dinner with her teammates.
02 / Right now
Current focus.
Sarah's 100 m freestyle at SSC WJISC came down to 1:37.66, putting it inside the 1:38.00 Age Group Squad entry time. Her 50 m freestyle is also inside its standard, while the other 100 m events remain the next part of the work. She still hopes to make swimming her secondary school CCA and compete at NSG 2027.
03 / The goal
Squad targets.
The Age Group Squad standards give Sarah a clear set of times to work towards, particularly in the 100 m events she is focusing on now. Her 50 m and 100 m freestyle PBs are now inside the listed standards, while the remaining gaps show what the next stage of the work looks like.
Target: Age Group Squad · LCM entry times supplied by Dad. The comparison uses record eligible PBs; Shocktober practice results are shown separately.
50 FR
At standard · 3.15s inside
50 BA
3.01s to go
50 BR
6.26s to go
50 FLY
3.14s to go
100 FR
At standard · 0.34s inside
100 BA
9.29s to go
100 BR
8.46s 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.
| Event | Time | Meet | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 FR | 40.85 | SSC WJISC | 7–8 Nov 2026 |
| 50 BA | 54.01 | SSC WJISC | 7–8 Nov 2026 |
| 50 BR | 1:02.26 | Pesta Sukan | 19–21 Jun 2026 |
| 50 FLY | 56.14 | Swimfaster | 4–5 Sep 2026 |
| 100 FR | 1:37.66 | SSC WJISC | 7–8 Nov 2026 |
| 100 BA | 1:59.29 | Swimfaster | 4–5 Sep 2026 |
| 100 BR | 2:13.46 | Swimfaster | 4–5 Sep 2026 |
| 100 FLY | 2:14.69 | Swimfaster | 4–5 Sep 2026 |
| 200 IM | 4:27.92 | Swimfaster | 4–5 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 FLY 52.26
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.
19–21 Jun 2026
Pesta Sukan
5 events · LCM
- 50 FR 48.27
- 50 BA 1:00.49
- 50 BR 1:02.26
- 50 FLY 59.77
- 100 BR 2:17.24
4–5 Sep 2026
Swimfaster
9 events · LCM
- 50 FR 43.38
- 50 BA 55.97
- 50 BR 1:03.73
- 50 FLY 56.14
- 100 FR 1:49.19
- 100 BA 1:59.29
- 100 BR 2:13.46
- 100 FLY 2:14.69
- 200 IM 4:27.92
- Practice · unsanctioned
10 Oct 2026
Shocktober
2 events · LCM
- 50 FR 41.01
- 50 FLY 52.26
7–8 Nov 2026
SSC WJISC
5 events · LCM
- 50 FR 40.85
- 50 BA 54.01
- 200 MEDLEY RELAY 3:29.14
- 100 BA DQ
- 100 FR 1:37.66
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
- Pesta Sukan · 19–21 Jun 202648.27
- Swimfaster · 4–5 Sep 202643.38
- Shocktober · 10 Oct 2026 (practice)41.01
- SSC WJISC · 7–8 Nov 202640.85
50 BA LCM
- Pesta Sukan · 19–21 Jun 20261:00.49
- Swimfaster · 4–5 Sep 202655.97
- SSC WJISC · 7–8 Nov 202654.01
50 BR LCM
- Pesta Sukan · 19–21 Jun 20261:02.26
- Swimfaster · 4–5 Sep 20261:03.73
50 FLY LCM
- Pesta Sukan · 19–21 Jun 202659.77
- Swimfaster · 4–5 Sep 202656.14
- Shocktober · 10 Oct 2026 (practice)52.26
100 FR LCM
- Swimfaster · 4–5 Sep 20261:49.19
- SSC WJISC · 7–8 Nov 20261:37.66
100 BR LCM
- Pesta Sukan · 19–21 Jun 20262:17.24
- Swimfaster · 4–5 Sep 20262:13.46