When SMU undergraduate Zach Ong isn’t working the maths for his accounting modules, he’s busy counting the seconds he’s shaved off while breaking records in the pool. The national swimmer juggles a hectic schedule of studying and training – he even had to turn up for examinations one day after the SEA Games. Singapore’s top backstroke swimmer, who won the 200m backstroke event at the 2009 SEA Games, will be back in Japan later this year to train for this year’s games. On how his brother has had a big influence on his style, Zach Ong said, “Yes, when you have a brother who’s five years older, you just usually follow what he wears and what he finds cool…right now, I’m more into neutral colours. I also buy raw denim…but I don’t really wear jeans all that often because I’m in the pool most of the time.”