Olympic Hertfordians of History: Thum Ping Tjin the Swimmer

6 August 2024

The 1996 Atlanta Olympics were a fascinating coalition of historical firsts. It witnessed the (rather late) additions of several women’s sports, including women’s football, and women’s épée fencing. It also debuted many newly recognised countries in the post-Soviet Union and Cold War world.

It also saw the 16-year-old, and future Hertfordian, Thum Ping Tjin (2002, History and Politics) dive into the pool, competing in the 100m and 200m butterfly, the 4x 200 relay and the 4 x 100 medley relay for Singapore.

Following his arrival as a Rhodes Scholar at Hertford, he continued on to complete multiple degrees at the college, including a MSt in Historical Research and a DPhil in Modern History. During his time at Oxford, he was nothing short of a prolific university and college sportsman. He was of course a part of Oxford University Swim Club and gained two Blues in the process, and also competed in Hertford’s own swim team. Beyond swimming, he was involved in the Boat Club as well.

Thum Ping Tjin notably was also the first person from Singapore to swim the Channel in August 2005, completing the feat during his Master’s degree. He swam the gruelling feat in 12 hours and 24 minutes.

Ping Tjin is now an academic, and the managing director of New Naratif, a movement for democracy in Southeast Asia and his academic research centres around decolonisation in that same area. His civil rights work has led to a continued life under the spotlight, being tried for ‘online falsehoods’ and removed from academic positions in Singapore. Through this, Oxford, and its academics, continued to support Ping Tjin and attest to his academic qualifications.

This is the final instalment of our series examining the history of Hertfordians at the Olympics, and all our articles have reflected a larger truth about the Olympics as a whole. That the Games are not isolated from a global context, and that while the sports are thrilling to watch and exciting to follow, underneath it all is a wider global history that continues to unravel years into the future.