Tan Howe Liang, Singapore’s first Olympic medallist, dies at 91
He won Singapore’s first Olympic medal, turned weightlifting into one of the country’s most successful sports, and inspired a national multimillion-dollar initiative that ended a 48-year Olympic medal drought.
Tan Howe Liang, whose silver medal at Rome 1960 made him Singapore’s first and only Olympic medallist for almost half a century, died on 3 December 2024. He was 91.
He was a sportsman born ahead of his time, chasing sporting glory at a time when a pre-independent, third-world Singapore paid little attention to anything other than economic progress. The lacklustre attitude towards sports did not deter his quest for success – Tan swept everything in his path, winning medals at the South-east Asian Peninsular (SEAP) Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and Olympics.
Singapore’s first Olympic medallist Tan Howe Liang dies aged 91
Tan Howe Liang clinched silver at the 1960 Rome Olympics, making him Singapore's 1st medallist at the quadrennial Games
Singapore’s first Olympic medallist Tan Howe Liang died of pneumonia on Dec 3. He was 91. A trailblazer in Singapore sport, the weightlifter made history at the 1960 Rome Olympics by clinching silver in the lightweight division. Singapore National Olympic Council president Grace Fu said in a tribute: “Howe Liang’s achievement has inspired many generations of Singaporeans. Athletes of his generation had much lesser, but they accepted what they had and trained hard.
“His achievement in Rome goes to show what one can achieve, if one simply devotes himself to it. He also exemplifies the value of a true Olympian athlete through his humility and kindness.” The third of seven children, Tan was born in the southern Chinese city of Swatow in 1933, moving to Singapore with his family when he was four and settling in the cramped quarters of Chinatown. He picked up weightlifting after seeing a strongman competition at the now-defunct Gay World Amusement Park and began training seriously in 1952 after joining the Evergreen Weightlifting Party for 50 cents a month. So dedicated was Tan to his athletic ambitions that the lack of financial support did not stop his sporting pursuits. He took on a variety of jobs ranging from dockworker, store clerk and electrician to fund his training and overseas competitions.
He was crowned national champion within a year, the start of what would be an illustrious career for him. At the 1958 Commonwealth Games, he set the world record in the clean-and-jerk, before claiming gold at the Asian and SEAP Games a year later. Then came his Olympic success in the halls of the Palazzeto dello Sport in Rome. After a disappointing outing at the 1956 Melbourne Games where he finished ninth, Tan was determined to finish on the podium. This time he did. An hour and a half before the final lift at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, he felt an incredible pain in his legs and was advised by doctors to withdraw from the competition in order to seek treatment.
Tan Howe Liang, Singapore's first Olympic medallist, dies aged 91
Olympian Tan Howe Liang poses with his silver medal that he won at the 1960 Rome Olympics
Weightlifter Tan Howe Liang, Singapore’s first Olympic medallist, died on Tuesday (Dec 3) at the age of 91. Tan won a silver medal at the 1960 Rome Games, making him Singapore’s only Olympic medallist for almost half a century.
It would not be until 2008 in Beijing when Singapore’s women’s table tennis team - Feng Tianwei, Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu - would win the country’s next Olympic medals. "(Tan) was a sportsman born ahead of his time, chasing sporting glory at a time when a pre-independent, third-world Singapore paid little attention to anything other than economic progress," read an obituary by the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC).
Born in the Chinese city of Swatow in 1933, Tan emigrated to Singapore with his family when he was four. He became interested in weightlifting after witnessing a strongman competition and started training seriously in 1952. Tan broke the clean and jerk world record at the 1958 Commonwealth Games before winning gold at the Asian and Southeast Asian Peninsular (SEAP) Games in 1959. Following his 1960 Olympic feat, Tan would go on to win gold at the 1962 Perth Commonwealth Games. However he would ultimately retire after failing to repeat his performance at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. "Howe Liang’s achievement has inspired many generations of Singaporeans," said SNOC president Grace Fu, who is also the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment.
Tan Howe Liang
Born 5 May 1933 & Died 3 Dec 2024 (aged 91)
Tan Howe Liang, PJG (simplified Chinese: 陈浩亮; traditional Chinese: 陳浩亮; pinyin: Chén Hàoliàng; 5 May 1933 – 3 December 2024) was a Singaporean weightlifter who was the first Singaporean to win an Olympic Games medal. He did so in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome where he won the silver medal in the lightweight category. Tan also broke the oldest-standing world record in the lightweight category in the clean and jerk in 1958. He was the only Singaporean Olympic medalist until the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Tan was born on 5 May 1933, in Swatow, China, where he was the third of eight siblings.[3] When he was four years old, he emigrated with his family to settle in Singapore, where he grew up in Chinatown. Tan's Teochew father died when Tan was 14. Tan left school after his first year at a secondary school.
Tan's weightlifting career started when he walked past the World Amusement Park and witnessed his first weightlifting competition and became interested in the sport. After one year of training on his own, Tan, then 20, won national junior and senior championship in the lightweight division in 1953. Without any financial support, Tan worked as a clerk at Cathay Organisation and also as a mechanic to pay for his training. Despite the hardships, Tan continued his training.
Singapore have won a total of 6 medals at the Olympics
Athletes from Singapore have won a total of 6 medals at the Olympics including 1 gold
The country has won six Olympic medals, the first was at the 1960 Summer Olympics, the second at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the third and fourth at the 2012 Summer Olympics. At the 2016 Summer Olympics Singapore won their first ever gold medal and the fifth overall. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Singapore won their third bronze medal, bringing the total number of Olympic medals won to six:
- 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. 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. 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.
- 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. 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. 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
- 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. During the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan, Singapore sent 23 athletes to the Games but did not manage to win any medals.
- 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. This makes Maximilian Maeder the youngest individual to win a medal in the Olympics from Singapore.
