Tang Pui Wah was the first female Olympian from Singapore. She was born in 1933 and studied in Nanyang Girls’ School (later moved to Raffles Girls School in an attempt to improve her English) where sports was quite a well-established activity for students in school. At the Asian Games held in Manila in 1954, Pui Wah came in third for the 80 meters hurdle as she was thwarted by a poor start and was lagging behind her Japanese opponents. Her record time of 12.1 seconds was a new Malayan record and she subsequently became the Malayan Amateur Athletic Association’s champion in hurdles one year later i.e. in 1955. She quitted sports in 1956.
