ROARing with Adaptability and Teamwork
ROAR Award of the Month (December 2025) - Julia Yeo Shu Ning
On 5 January 2026, swimmer Julia Yeo received the ROAR Award of the Month (December 2025), an honour that recognises more than her sporting achievement at the 33rd SEA Games. It recognises her courage, composure, and resilience that stayed with her long after her race is over.
Julia’s defining moment came at the 33rd SEA Games without warning. Just 30 minutes before the Women’s 4×100m Medley Relay finals, a teammate was injured, and Julia was called up at the last possible minute. There was no warm-up, no time to reset, no chance to prepare the way athletes usually do. She stepped in using borrowed gear, with the weight of expectation and the hopes of a team, suddenly on her shoulders.
But Julia didn’t hesitate.
In the middle of chaos, she found calm. She took a breath, trusted her training, and swam with quiet conviction. Julia’s backstroke leg helped Singapore power to gold in a new SEA Games record of 4:05.79s. It was also her first SEA Games gold, achieved alongside her senior teammates, as Singapore successfully defended a relay title the nation has held proudly since 2003.
Beyond the relay, Julia broke the national women’s 200m backstroke record, surpassing the long-standing mark set by alumna Tao Li in 2009.
Julia received commendation for her adaptability, courage, teamwork and the excellence she displayed during her SEA Games performances.
On 5 January 2026, swimmer Julia Yeo received the ROAR Award of the Month (December 2025), an honour that recognises more than her sporting achievement at the 33rd SEA Games. It recognises her courage, composure, and resilience that stayed with her long after her race is over.
Julia’s defining moment came at the 33rd SEA Games without warning. Just 30 minutes before the Women’s 4×100m Medley Relay finals, a teammate was injured, and Julia was called up at the last possible minute. There was no warm-up, no time to reset, no chance to prepare the way athletes usually do. She stepped in using borrowed gear, with the weight of expectation and the hopes of a team, suddenly on her shoulders.
But Julia didn’t hesitate.
In the middle of chaos, she found calm. She took a breath, trusted her training, and swam with quiet conviction. Julia’s backstroke leg helped Singapore power to gold in a new SEA Games record of 4:05.79s. It was also her first SEA Games gold, achieved alongside her senior teammates, as Singapore successfully defended a relay title the nation has held proudly since 2003.
Beyond the relay, Julia broke the national women’s 200m backstroke record, surpassing the long-standing mark set by alumna Tao Li in 2009.
Julia received commendation for her adaptability, courage, teamwork and the excellence she displayed during her SEA Games performances.
- ROARing with Adaptability and Teamwork
