5-time Southeast Asian (SEA) Games gold medalist Tao Li of Singapore has decided she will not be competing at this year’s edition of the meet, set for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in August. While competing at the Singapore National Age Group Swimming Championships at OCBC Aquatic Centre this week, 27-year-old Tao says that she ‘isn’t ready to give her best’ and ‘doesn’t want to give anything but 100%’, thus she will be opting out of one of the region’s largest and most prestigious multi-sport championships.
“I will not be competing at the SEA Games, but it’s okay, perhaps I can still aim for the Asian Games next year,” she told The New Paper.
The decision is reminiscent of Tao Li‘s announcement last year that she would not seek a spot on Singapore’s roster for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Instead, she wanted to focus her efforts on her business venture, Tao Li Swimming Club, a learn-to-swim program for both children and adults residing at Temasek Club.
Having competed in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, Tao became the first Singaporean woman to make an Olympic final in swimming by placing 5th in the 100m butterfly event at the Beijing Games.
