SINGAPORE, 14 April 2018 - AirAsia brings Olympian and world swimming champion Ben Proud to Singapore to train young aspiring national swimmers as part of its ‘Dare to Dream’ initiative.

The Ben Proud Talent Pool one-day programme benefitted 60 young talents aged between 11-15 years old from the Singapore Swimming Club.

The privileged students were split into two groups for the morning and afternoon sessions, coached by Ben Proud and his team, consisting of two Aqua Elite coaches.

The students began training with a short classroom session where Ben and his team shared key tips to strengthen their mental fortitude, set goals for their swimming journeys, prepare for races as well as learn about breathing techniques.

This was followed by a practical swimming lesson in the pool where students were taught competitive swimming techniques, with students receiving individual feedback throughout the session.

Rudy Khaw, Group Head of Branding for AirAsia said, “Singapore is a nurturing ground of sports champions and aspiring athletes especially in the field of swimming. I’m very happy we are able to bring Ben Proud here. It is heartening to see the young talents’ yearn to learn from Ben’s experience. We believe sessions like this can help inspire young talents to dare to dream.”

Ben Proud says, “It’s great to be back in Singapore, I’ve visited many times over the years with my family having grown up in Malaysia. I’m here straight from the Gold Coast where I had some challenges but successfully defended my 50m freestyle title in the Commonwealth Games. My aim is to further inspire these up and coming children here in Singapore with my attitude of following my dream together with my knowledge and experience of competing on the world’s sporting stage. I am very passionate about giving back to the ASEAN region that inspired my sporting dream as a child, who knows – one of these talented swimmers could be representing Singapore very soon. DARE TO DREAM”.

Singapore Swimming is a premier members-only recreational club founded in 1894 which has an array of premium swimming programmes suited for the young and old as well as beginners to the aspiring athletes.

Ben Proud Talent Pool is part of AirAsia’s #DARETODREAM sports campaign which aims to inspire young sports talents and nurture their growth potential.

Ben Proud is part of AirAsia’s athletes line-up under the #DARETODREAM campaign alongside other Asean atheletes including track cyclists Azizulhasni Awang and Fatehah Mustapa as well as diver Leong Mun Yee. AirAsia is also working with promising bodybuilder athlete Faiz Ariffin and go-kart driver Muizzuddin Musyaffa, sponsor of the AirAsia Malaysia Rugby League and AirAsia KL Junior League, with more plans for the campaign in the pipeline.

Follow AirAsia’s Dream journey through the hashtag #daretodream or the latest AirAsia news and activities on Twitter (twitter.com/AirAsia) and Facebook (facebook.com/AirAsia)