Of record-breaking moments, historic medals, and significant sporting moments this year as the SportPlus.sg editorial team recaps an eventful 12 months for Singapore sports
As we look back on 2024, the year has been nothing short of exhilarating for Singapore athletes and our sporting communities.
From record-breaking medals, history-making moments and unforgettable performances that warmed our hearts, the past 12 months have witnessed as many firsts as there were historic milestones.
From the biggest sporting stage of the Paris 2024 Olympics to the pulse-pounding excitement of the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, SportPlus.sg reflects on an incredible year in sport. So in case you missed it, relive some of the most iconic events and celebrate some of the biggest achievements of athletes from our community that defined 2024 with us.
1. Max Maedar wins Olympic Bronze Medal in Kite-Foiling Sailing 17 year-old Maxmillian Maedar made history by winning the Olympic bronze medal in kite-foiling at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. In so doing, Max became Singapore's first-ever Olympic sailing medalist. He was one of 23 athletes who represented Singapore at the Paris Olympics, with 15 making their Olympic debut. His remarkable achievement marked a significant milestone for Singapore in the sport, which made its Olympic debut at these Games.
2. Sydney becomes a World Marathon Major Running
The TCS Sydney Marathon was officially announced as the seventh Abbott World Marathon Major, marking a significant milestone for both the event and the sport of long-distance running. This prestigious designation places the Sydney Marathon alongside other renowned races, such as the Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York, and Tokyo Marathons.
3.Izaac Quek and Koen Pang Win Silver at 27th Asian Table Tennis Championships Table Tennis
Singapore paddlers Izaac Quek and Koen Pang won Singapore’s first medal in the Asian Table Tennis Championships since 2013, after the pair took down world-ranked 12th Japanese pair, Tomakazu Harimoto and Sora Matsushima en route to the final!
There were also other significant achievements for Singapore's rising stars in table tennis stars as Loy Ming Ying, Ser Lin Qian and Tan Zao Yun stamped their mark on the Asian youth stage as they clinched two joint-bronze medals at the Asian Youth Table Tennis Championships 2024 in Chongqing, China. The bronze medals were Singapore’s first medal wins at the Championships since 2019.
4. Singaporean Christian Ho Crowned 2024 EUROCUP-3 Rookie Champion
Motorsports
Singapore race car driver Christian Ho, just 17, has been making waves as the first Singaporean to secure a seat in the FIA Formula 3 Championship.
Christian has leveled up from Eurocup-3, where he’s currently ranked second out of 32 drivers. From being the first Asian to win a race in the Deutsche Kart Meisterschaft at 12, to finishing second in the 2023 F4 Spanish Championship, Christian's on full throttle on his journey to become Singapore’s first F1 driver—and he’s just getting started.
5. Vanessa Lee defends Half Marathon crowns in GE Women's Run and SCSM2024 Running Singapore's distance runner Vanessa Lee underlined her status as Singapore's Half-Marathon running queen at present after successfully defending her 21.1km Half-marathon titles for both the Great Eastern Women's Run and the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, blazing her way to impressive times of 1:22:24 (GE Women's Run) and 1:24:17 (SCSM National Championships).
6. Singapore shuttler Yeo Jia Min defeats former world champion PV Sindhu at Li-Ning China Masters 2024 Badminton
Singapore’s top female badminton player Yeo Jia Min have been making waves on the BWF World Tour in 2024, marking her continued rise in the sport.
Jia Min, 25, most notably achieved a significant feat on 21 November 2024 at the Li-Ning China Masters when she defeated two-time Olympic medallist Pusarla Venkata Sindhu in the women's singles event en route to the quarter finals of the badminton tournament in Shenzhen. It was her first win against Sindhu in six meetings ever since their first encounter in 2019. She was eventually eliminated in the quarter finals by Thai opponent Supanida Katethong.
7. Singapore Hosts the Largest Single Day HYROX in the World
Fitness Racing
Cigna HYROX Singapore 2024, held on 29 June this year at the Singapore National Stadium wrapped up the day with a history-making attendance of 12,500 racers and spectators, which was double of 2023's 3,500 participants and 2,000 spectators at the Singapore Sports Hub. This officially set the record for largest single day HYROX in the world.
8.Singapore goalkeeper Hassan Sunny became a celebrity in China after heroic performance in 2026 World Cup Asian qualifier match against Thailand Football
Singapore national goalkeeper Hassan Sunny made 11 saves to help China advance to the next round of the Asian qualifiers, despite Singapore losing the match 3-1.
His performance enamoured many Chinese fans, winning the hearts of tens of thousands who called him the "King of Football of the people", flooding his family's nasi padang stall, with some even transfering money to the stall's QR code, prompting the footballer to appeal to the fans to stop sending him money.
9.Yip Pin Xiu Wins Third Consecutive Gold in 100m backstroke S2 at Paris Paralympics
Swimming
Singapore's Yip Pin Xiu notched a historic three-peat at the Paris Paralympics when she clocked a time of 2:21.73 to clinch Singapore’s first medal of the Paris Games.
Singapore's most decorated paralympian also won gold in the same event at the Rio and Tokyo Games.
10.SportPlus Racing Teams Clinch Podium Positions at T100Singapore Standard Duathlon Relay
Duathlon
Team SportPlus.sg clinched its first silverware at the 2024 T100 Singapore Standard Duathlon Relay events when the mixed team comprising Aldrich Goh, Elizabeth Liau and Lucas Lim finished first overall with a time of 1:33:39.
SportPlus' all women's team comprising Sharon Choo, Sarah Swee and Chermaine Zhou also took first place in the all-women's category at the event.
11.Ben Khoo becomes first Runner at StanChart Singapore Marathon to Vlog a Race and Finish on the Podium Running
National triathlete Ben Khoo who surprised many runners when he clinched third place overall in the 2023 Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon did one better this year, coming in second for the Full Marathon, just 20 seconds behind Singapore's hot favourite Soh Rui Yong.
What made his feat even more remarkable was that he did so while vlogging his race - a true hybrid elite-runfluencer.
12. Amelia Chua Scores 3 gold medals at Indonesia Short Track Open and breaks national junior record for 500m Short Track Speed Skating
Speed skater Amelia Chua had a stellar year when she won 3 gold medals at the Indonesia Short Track Open. She followed that up by breaking the national junior record for 500m, previously set by winter Olympian Cheyenne Goh in 2016, clocking 46.364s to re-write the 46.868s national Under-18 record as well as the national Junior A record.
In January Amelia had represented Singapore at the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, Korea and in March became the youngest-ever Singaporean female skater to qualify for and compete at the ISU Short Track World Championships in Rotterdam.
14. Natalie Dau runs 1000km for Charity from Thailand to Singapore Running
Natalie Dau ran 1,000km over 12 days through Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, setting a record and raising money for charity.
Her feat through Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore on foot has earned her the Singapore record for the "Fastest 1,000km Thailand-Singapore Ultramarathon". She was also awarded the Guinness World Record for the "Fastest Crossing of Peninsular Malaysia on Foot".
15. Danelle Tan wins Landesliga Title with Borussia Dortmund
Football
Already Singapore’s first female footballer to play in a European league and then the first Asian female player in Borussia Dortmund, Danelle Tan followed that up by becoming the first Singaporean footballer to win an European league title when he clinched the Landesliga title with Borussia Dortmund this year.
She followed that up by trading the lower-league European football division for a professional contract in Australia’s top women’s division.
16. Joscelin Yeo inducted into Singapore Sports Hall of Fame Swimming
Singapore's swimming legend Joscelin Yeo was finally inducted into the Singapore Sports Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was refreshed in 2023 to include a new category for sport leaders, and to recognise the achievements of athletes beyond medals, including contributions back to sport and the community.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The former Team Singapore swimmer, said, “Singapore was built on the shoulders of giants and while I don’t consider myself to be one, I believe that much can be learnt from those who have gone before us, and I endeavour to do what I can in that respect.”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
“Sports, in particular swimming, has taught me a lot of life lessons, hence I hope to see sports as a greater enabler and equaliser - uniting Singaporeans and bringing hope to the community.”
17. Goh Chui Ling eclipses Yvonne Danson's 5000m National Record
Athletics
National athlete Goh Chui Ling rewrote the national 5000m record of 27 years, previously held by Yvonne Danson after she blazed her way to a time of 17min, 33.73 sec to secure second spot at the Munchner Adendsportfest in Munich. This bettered the previous national record time of 17min 35.3 sec.
Just 11 days later at the Malaysia Open Athletics Championships in Kuantan, Pahang, Vanessa Lee then stormed to victory in 17:26.62, capturing the gold and surpassing Goh Chui Ling’s freshly set National Record of 17:33.73.
18. Lionesses Record Biggest Win in History
Football
The Singapore women's football team recorded their biggest ever win in history when they defeated Macau 9-0 in an International A friendly match.
Goals from Dorcas Chu, Putri Syaliza (2), Venetia Lim, Danelle Tan (3), Rosnani Azman and Kyra Taylor sealed Macau's fate at Jalan Besar Stadium.
19.Kai Minejima-Lee and Isabelle Koh strike gold at World Cup of Indoor Skydiving
Indoor Skydiving
15-year-old Singaporean Kai Minejima-Lee clinched the solo freestyle title in his open-category debut with 71.7 points to edge out American James Rogers (68.8) and Latvian Toms Ivans (67.4) at the GoAirborne Macau at the World Air Sports Federation (FAI) World Cup of Indoor Skydiving (WCIS) in Macau on April 20. The solo freestyle junior champion from the 2023 WCIS had found out only in February that he would be in the open category after teammate Kyra Poh suffered an injury.
He was joined by Isabelle Koh, who also struck gold, collecting 72.4 points to finish ahead of Hungary’s Mate Feith (72.2) and Australia’s Ariel Zarah Gilbert Daborn (66.3) for the solo freestyle junior title.
20.Community Spirit Comes Alive in Largest SCSM in History Running
A record number of 55,000 runners at Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon this year experienced one of the best organised cheer zone experiences led by local run clubs along the marathon course - this included Running Department, Fast and Free Run Club, The High Panters and Urban Milers to name a few in what were largely ground-up initiatives, reflecting the community spirit of runners in Singapore.
21. Valencia Yip's Triumph at Kickboxing World Cup Kickboxing
Exactly five months post surgery after suffering a very rare foot injury, Valencia Yip clinches three golds and one silver medal at the inaugural Uzbekistan Kickboxing World Cup in March this year.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Valencia had overcome the odds after suffering a Lisfranc injury, which saw a tear in her lisfranc ligament and leaving her unable to stand and resorting to a wheelchair.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
22. Stephenie Chen Makes History at Paris Olympics Kayaking
Singapore kayaker Stephenie Chen made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics when she became the first Singaporean kayaker to make an Olympic final with a seventh placing in the K1 500m Final C. Her appearance also marks a 12-year drought in kayaking for Singapore since 2012.
23. Singapore Men and Women Rugby Teams Clinch Second Place in SEA 7s Finals
Rugby
Singapore's men and women rugby teams clinched silver medals at the Southeast Asian (SEA) 7s, a Regional Rugby tournament held at Jurong West Stadium, with the finals played at the National Stadium during the HSBC Singapore Rugby 7s tournament.
Singapore lost 0-42 to Thailand in the women's final, while the men's team were edged out 10-14 by Malaysia in the final.
24.Ng Xuan Jie's Winning Performance in National Duathlon Championships
Duathlon
19 year-old Ng Xuan Jie turned many heads when she clinched top spot at the National Duathlon championships in November, a continuation of the youngster’s rise in prominence in Singapore’s endurance sports scene. Reflecting on her performance after clinching top spot at the Singapore Duathlon National Championships, @xxuanjie told www.sportplus.sg:
“This performance reassures my commitment and dedication for this sport and I’m even more motivated to train harder,” she said. “I’ve had my learnings from this race and hope to continue taking home these invaluable lessons.” #YearInReview #2024Wrapped
Comments