Pat Chan

Pat Chan

Patricia Chan in 1966
Personal information
Full name	Patricia Chan Li-Yin
Nationality	Singapore
Born	(1954-04-12) 12 April 1954 Singapore
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	64 kg (141 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Backstroke, Freestyle, Medley
Club	Chinese Swimming Club
Medal record Women's swimming Competitor for  Singapore Asian Games Silver 1970 Bangkok 400 m freestyle Silver 1970 Bangkok 4×100 m freestyle Silver 1970 Bangkok 4×100 m medley Bronze 1966 Bangkok 100 m backstroke Bronze 1966 Bangkok 200 m medley Bronze 1966 Bangkok 4×100 m freestyle Bronze 1970 Bangkok 100 m freestyle Bronze 1970 Bangkok 200 m freestyle

Patricia Chan Li-Yin (陈丽燕; born 12 April 1954), popularly known as Pat Chan and the "Golden Girl", is a retired swimmer from Singapore. Between 1965 and 1973 she won 39 gold medals at Southeast Asian Games, which was the best achievement for a Singaporean athlete in any sport until 2005. She competed in eight events at the 1966 and 1970 Asian Games and won 3 silver and 5 bronze medals.^[1] At the 1970 Games she also set a national record in the 200 m backstroke that stood for 23 years. At the 1972 Summer Olympics she was the flag bearer for Singapore and competed in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke events, but failed to reach the finals.^[2] Chan was named the Best Sportswoman of Singapore for five consecutive years (1967–1971).^[3] In 2002, she was inducted into the Singapore Sports Council Hall of Fame and ranked fourth among Singapore's 50 greatest athletes.^[4]

Chan retired from competitions in 1973, aged 19, to become the first Singaporean female professional coach. She later turned to journalism, and currently runs her own media company, Visus Inq.^[4]

Family

Patricia and her siblings were coached by their father, Chan Ah Kow, the Singaporean Coach of the Year in 1970 and 1971. Her brother Roy Chan Kum Wah won a bronze medal at the 1970 Asian Games in the 4×200 m relay.^[1][5][6] Her two other brothers, Alex Chan Meng Wah and Bernard Chan Cheng Wah, were also swimmers, the latter competing at the 1966 Asian Games and 1964 Summer Olympics.^[7][8] Her other brother Mark Chan is a composer,^[9][10] whereas her elder sister Victoria Chan-Palay became a prominent neuroscientist in the United States and Switzerland.^[11] Her niece Marina Chan is also an international swimmer.^[12]

References