Tokyo Olympics: Jonathan Chan, Singapore’s first male diver at the Games, ready to make history
- The 24-year-old will become Singapore’s second diver at the Olympic Games after compatriot Freida Lim took part in the women’s 10m platform event
- Chan, who is studying architecture at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, will square off against favourite Tom Daley today
Jonathan Chan will earn the distinction on Friday of becoming Singapore’s first male diver to compete at an Olympics, having become the first from his country’s to qualify for the Games on merit.
Chan had an interesting route to the Olympics, which started when he was watching the Youth Olympic Games in 2010 in Singapore as a fan, according to an official interview with Olympics.com. Four years on and he was competing at the same event in Nanjing, China. He came 10th in the 10m platform and eighth in the mixed team event. He was also the flag bearer for Singapore.
He spoke about how diving wasn’t even his first choice, but his initial sporting love surely helped him when it came to honing diving skills.
“I was originally a gymnast,” the 24-year-old told Olympics.com. “I started gym when I was around six or seven years old, and then when I was 13, there was the YOG happening in Singapore, but we didn‘t have any divers at that point in time. My sister was one of those within the age range who could compete in YOG, so she started diving first, and then I went to try out the sport as well and realised I liked it better than gym. So, I swapped over.”
Chan is studying architecture at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (he is writing his finals during the Games because of Covid-19 delaying classes), and in September of 2019, Chan won the men’s 10m platform event in the Asian Diving Cup in Kuala Lumpur, beating favourites Wang Zewei, from China, and Korea’s Ri Kwon-hyok. Chan, who was 22 at the time, was vaulted into the local spotlight and dubbed “Singapore’s golden boy of diving”.