Chan Ah Kow
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Chan Ah Kow (陈亚九, 1912 – 10 March 1996) was a Singaporean swimming coach.[1]
Chan was noted for his experimental training methods; though he had little swimming experience himself, he trained his children extensively, helping them go on to dominate swimming in Southeast Asia in the 1960s and 1970s.[2] In particular, his youngest daughter Patricia Chan Li-yin would earn numerous gold medals for Singapore at the Southeast Asian Games, earning her the moniker "Singapore's Golden Girl".[3] Another daughter of his, Victoria Lye-hua Chan-Palay, went on to prominence as a neuroscientist in the United States and Switzerland.[4] His son Roy Chan Kum Wah attended the Anglo-Chinese School, where aside from distinction in swimming (he was part of the men's 4 × 200 m relay team that won a bronze medal at the 1970 Asian Games) he also achieved excellent academic results, earning him a President's Scholarship.[5][6][7] Two other sons Alex Chan Meng Wah and Bernard Chan Cheng Wah were also swimmers, the latter representing Singapore at the 1966 Asian Games.[8][9] The other son Mark Chan later became a composer.[10][11] One of his granddaughters Marina Chan is also an international swimmer.[12]
Chan was jointly awarded the Singapore National Olympic Council's first coach of the year award when it was instituted in 1970, along with Tan Eng Yoon and Ang Teck Bee; he would go on to receive it again as sole winner in 1971 and 1972.[13]
