Singapore has sent athletes to the celebration of the Olympic Games since 1948, when it was established as a separate British crown colony from the Straits Settlements just over three months before the commencement of the 1948 Summer Olympics.[a] It continued to send a team to the Games until 1964 when the Singaporean delegation competed with Malaysia, which sent a combined team.

Upon Singapore's full independence from Malaysia in 1965, the country continued to participate in all subsequent editions of the Summer Olympics except in 1980 when the country participated in a large United States–led boycott against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Singapore was the host of the inaugural Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2010.

Singapore made its debut at the Winter Olympic Games in 2018, with speed skater, Cheyenne Goh, competing in the short track speed skating event.[2][3][4] The Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) is the National Olympic Committee for Singapore.

Prize

Under the Major Games Award Programme by the Singapore National Olympics Council,[5] individual gold, silver and bronze medalists are awarded S$1 million, S$500,000 and S$250,000 respectively.[6] Team event and team sport medalists are awarded different amounts for each medal type.[7]

Timeline of participation

Olympic Year/sTeams Notes
1948–1956 Singapore (SIN) Singapore participated as a British Crown Colony.
1960 Singapore (SIN) Singapore participated as a self-governing colony of the United Kingdom
1964 Malaysia (MAL) North Borneo and Singapore joined with Malaya to compete as Malaysia for the first time.
1968–1988 Singapore (SIN)
1992–2016
2020–present Singapore (SGP)

History

The country has won six Olympic medals, the first was at the 1960 Summer Olympics, the second at the 2008 Summer Olympics[8] and the third and fourth at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[9] At the 2016 Summer Olympics Singapore won their first ever gold medal and the fifth overall.[10] At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Singapore won their third bronze medal, bringing the total number of Olympic medals won to six.

Singapore sent its first delegation to the Olympics in 1948. The organizers of the 1948 Summer Olympics had sent invitations to numerous countries and colonies but excluded Singapore. The main newspaper of Singapore, The Straits Times, reported the lack of an invitation on March 20, 1947, through a commentary by its sports editor. It pointed the blame to the colonial government and the sporting community. As a result, the Singapore National Olympic Council was formed and inaugurated on May 27 that same year.[11] Singapore then obtained its invitation to the Olympics.

A delegation of only one man, fireman Lloyd Valberg, was sent to the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, competing in the high jump.[12] O. T. Bussek served as the attaché for the delegation[13] and Valberg was housed at the Wembley County School along with the delegations of Bermuda, British Guiana, Ceylon, Jamaica, Malta, and Trinidad.[14] Valberg participated in the high jump competition for men.[15] In the qualifying round held on July 30, Valberg cleared 1.87 metres (6.1 feet), therefore qualifying to the final round. In the final round that same day, Valberg cleared a height of 1.80 m (5.9 ft), getting tied for 14th place with Hércules Azcune of Uruguay.[16]

Singapore's first Olympic medal was won by Tan Howe Liang, who won silver in lightweight weightlifting in 1960 Summer Olympics. The first and to date only Olympic gold medal was won by Joseph Schooling in the men's 100 metre butterfly at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[17] In table tennis, Jing Junhong, Li Jiawei and Yu Mengyu came close to winning medals by finishing in fourth place for the women's singles events at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, 2004 Athens Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Olympics respectively.

During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Singapore sent its largest contingent at that time, since it first participated, and was considered the best prepared to win a medal.[18] Li Jiawei, together with Feng Tianwei and Wang Yuegu, beat the South Korea women's table tennis team, composed of Dang Ye-seo, Kim Kyung-ah and Park Mi-young 3–2 in the semi-finals, assuring Singapore of at least a silver medal and ending Singapore's 48-year Olympic medal drought. Singapore faced host China in the gold medal final and lost in straight sets but won the silver medal.[19]

In the 2012 London Olympics, Feng beat Kasumi Ishikawa from Japan 4–0 in the table tennis women's singles bronze medal match, winning Singapore's first individual Olympic medal in 52 years since Tan won the silver medal at the 1960 Rome Games.[20] In the table tennis women's team bronze medal match, Li, together with Feng and Wang, beat the South Korea team composing Dang Ye-seo, Kim Kyung-ah and Seok Ha-jung 3–0, winning another bronze medal.[21] The two bronze medals won at the 2012 London Summer Olympics marked the first time that Singapore won more than one medal in an Olympiad.[22][23]

In the 2016 Rio Olympics, Olympic swimmer Joseph Schooling won a gold medal in the Men's 100 metre butterfly in an Olympics record of 50.39 seconds, becoming the first gold Olympic medallist of Singapore. This was also the first gold medal by a Southeast Asian male swimmer and the first Olympic gold that Singapore achieved.[24][25][26][27] During the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan, Singapore sent 23 athletes to the Games but did not manage to win any medals.[28]

In the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder won a bronze medal in the Men’s Kite category at the age of only 17, coming behind second place Toni Vodišek from Slovenia and first place Valentin Bontus from Austria.[29] This makes Maeder the youngest individual to win a medal in the Olympics from Singapore.[29]

Athletes from Singapore have won a total of six medals at the Olympics including one gold.[29][30]

Medal tables

List of medalists

Medal Name Games Sport Event
 SilverTan Howe Liang1960 Rome WeightliftingLightweight
 SilverFeng Tianwei
Li Jiawei
Wang Yuegu		2008 Beijing Table tennisWomen's team
 BronzeFeng Tianwei2012 London Table tennisWomen's singles
 BronzeFeng Tianwei
Li Jiawei
Wang Yuegu		2012 London Table tennisWomen's team
 GoldJoseph Schooling2016 Rio de Janeiro SwimmingMen's 100 m butterfly
 BronzeMax Maeder2024 Paris SailingMen's Formula Kite

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Prior to 1948, ethnic Chinese from Singapore had also competed for China at the Olympics as part of their football team, namely Chua Boon Lay in 1936, and Chia Boon Leong and Chu Chee Seng in 1948.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Auto, Hermes (13 February 2022). "Ex-footballer recounts Japanese Occupation, being screened for execution and 1948 Olympics | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  2. ↑ Chia, Nicole (24 November 2017). "Winter sports: Cheyenne Goh, 18, becomes first Singapore athlete to qualify for Olympics, will race in Pyeongchang". The Straits Times. Singapore. Archived from the original on 26 November 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  3. ↑ "Skater Cheyenne Goh qualifies for Winter Olympics, a first for Singapore". Channel NewsAsia. Singapore. 24 November 2017. Archived from the original on 24 November 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  4. ↑ "6 New National Olympic Committees Welcomed to Winter Olympics for the First Time". pyeongchang2018.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  5. ↑ "Major Games Award Programme". Singapore National Olympic Council. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  6. ↑ Knight, Brett. "These 10 Countries Offer Six-Figure Payouts To Their Olympic Medalists". Forbes. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) Major Games Award Programme (MAP) 2017 to 2020" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "Olympics: Singapore paddlers settle for silver in women's team final". Channel NewsAsia. 17 August 2008. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  9. ↑ "News". Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  10. ↑ "News". Archived from the original on 8 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  11. ↑ "Founding of SNOC in 1947". The Straits Times. 3 August 2017. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  12. ↑ Lee, David (20 July 2024). "Team Singapore's monumental effort for Olympic glory". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  13. ↑ The Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad 1948, p. 33.
  14. ↑ The Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad 1948, p. 160.
  15. ↑ "Singapore at the 1948 Summer Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  16. ↑ "High Jump, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  17. ↑ "Joseph Schooling Wins Singapore's First Ever Olympic Swimming Medal With 100 Fly Victory". Swimming World News. 13 August 2016. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  18. ↑ Tan, Les (11 July 2008). "Singapore to send our largest team to the Olympics since 1956". Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  19. ↑ "Medallists for Singapore". Archived from the original on 24 August 2008. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  20. ↑ "Singapore applauds Feng's Olympic medal win". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  21. ↑ Tan, Les. "Olympic Table Tennis: Singapore beat South Korea 3-0 to win women's team bronze". RED SPORTS. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  22. ↑ "S'pore paddlers clinch team bronze". Today. MediaCorp Press Ltd. 8 August 2012. Archived from the original on 14 August 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  23. ↑ "Record Olympic Medal Haul For Team Singapore". Sport Singapore. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  24. ↑ "Rio Olympics 2016: Joseph Schooling beats Michael Phelps in 100m butterfly". BBC. 13 August 2016. Archived from the original on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  25. ↑ "Joseph Schooling is Singapore's first-ever Olympics champion". Channel News Asia. 13 August 2016. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  26. ↑ "How Joseph Schooling achieved the impossible". The Straits Times. 13 August 2016. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  27. ↑ "Meet Team Singapore". The Straits Times. 13 August 2016. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  28. ↑ Abdul Aziz, Sazali; Brijnath, Rohit (5 August 2021). "Olympics: No medals 'a downer', real test is how Team Singapore bounce back, says MCCY's Edwin Tong". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  29. 1 2 3 "Kitefoiler Max Maeder clinches Olympic bronze, makes history as Singapore's youngest Games medallist". CNA. 9 August 2024.
  30. ↑ "Who are Singapore's past Olympic medallists?". The Straits Times. 9 August 2024. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_at_the_Olympics