AT THE HELM ONCE MORE

Tan is third straight chef de mission from sailing fraternity to lead Olympic contingent

- David Lee

It will be Tan Wearn Haw's first chef-de-mission (CDM) assignment when he helms Team Singapore at the July 26-Aug 11 Paris Games, but as an Olympian and former national sailor, the 45-year-old is hardly a greenhorn.

At the SEA Games, he won the men's 470 gold with Chung Pei Ming in 2001, as well as silvers in the boys' optimist (1991) and fireball open (1997) and a bronze in the international optimist open (1993). He was named 1993 and 1996 Sportsboy of the Year.

He also landed two men's 470 bronzes at the Asian Games, with Charles Lim in 1998 and with Chung in 2002. In between, he competed in the men's 470 with Koh Seng Leong at the Sydney 2000 Olympics and finished 28th out of 29 pairs.

He will be the third successive member from the sailing fraternity to become an Olympic CDM after Low Teo Ping (Rio 2016) and Ben Tan (Tokyo 2020).

After the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) announced his appointment on April 16, Tan said: "It is an honour to serve in the role of chef de mission, and I am looking forward to supporting Team Singapore in Paris." Trained as an aeronautical engineer in France and the United Kingdom, the Health Promotion Board director of strategic planning and collaborations has worked in various sectors including social, youth, sports, education, non-profit, finance, and health.