Swimmers Amanda Lim and Teong Tzen Wei at national team training at the OCBC Aquatic Centre on Nov 2. The duo were suspended for a month and returned on Tuesday. - ST
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Two months after they were embroiled in one of the biggest controversies in local sport, swimmers Amanda Lim and Teong Tzen Wei were back in the national team’s training pool on Tuesday (Nov 1), with Lim stressing that the “fire right now is probably burning even stronger”.
On Aug 30, Lim and teammate Joseph Schooling, who is in national service (NS), were revealed to have had consumed cannabis overseas. On Sept 28, it was revealed that Commonwealth Games silver medallist Teong had also admitted to consuming a controlled drug overseas.
After an internal review, national agency Sport Singapore suspended the trio’s support, which includes training assistance grants and access to sports science and sports medicine facilities and services, for a month from Oct 1.
All three swimmers were not allowed to train at the OCBC Aquatic Centre with the national team or have access to any facilities, benefits or services accorded to high-performance athletes.
On Monday, Schooling, Lim and Teong were also fined $10,000, $$2,800 and $3,200 respectively by the Singapore National Olympic Council for breaching its code of conduct.
After their hiatus from training sessions with the squad, Lim and Teong were back at the OCBC Aquatic Centre on Tuesday.
When The Straits Times visited the facility on Wednesday, the duo appeared upbeat and were smiling and chatting with their teammates and coaches.
Olympic champion Schooling has not returned to national team training as he is in NS, with the Ministry of Defence noting previously that “given his abuse of disruption privileges”, he would no longer be eligible for leave or disruption to train or compete while in NS.
