Singapore Olympic Foundation — Peter Lim Scholarship handed out to 270 recipients

SINGAPORE: Two hundred and seventy people received the Singapore Olympic Foundation — Peter Lim Scholarship on Monday.

The scholarships, amounting to a total of S$746,000, were awarded to athletes in sports as varied as athletics, football, table tennis and swimming.

Recipients received between S$1,000 and S$10,000.

Minister for Education Heng Swee Keat, the guest of honour, said such private efforts help spur youth sports development.

"It’s very commendable for private individuals and organisations to come forward to provide opportunities for students to excel in sports and study and to support them in such a concerted way. And I very much hope that we can encourage more individuals and organisations to step forward to do this," Mr Heng said.

The foundation on Monday invited six—time world champion swimmer Mark Foster to give a talk to aspiring athletes.

He said that, like the scholarship recipients, he had a good start.

Foster said: "I got a sports scholarship, very much like what Peter Lim is doing here. I got a sports scholarship to go to Milford school. At the age of 13, I went there. My family could not afford to send me there. I went there and trained with some of the best swimmers in the world, the best swimmers in the country. It was on the back of that my career really, really accelerated."

— CNA/ck