At just 15 years old, Jemma Hadden finds herself on a SEA Games start list – the youngest triathlete Singapore has ever selected.
It’s a remarkable milestone, but one that feels less like a sudden breakthrough and more like the natural outcome of a childhood spent moving. Growing up overseas, Hadden was exposed to a wide range of sports from an early age. “My family has lived abroad since I was born, so I had the opportunity to try many different sports at school,” she said.
At seven, she picked rhythmic gymnastics not out of strategy, but circumstance. The tryouts for gymnastics were long, and her mother suggested rhythmic gymnastics would be similar. She enjoyed it immediately, trained seriously, completed her gradings, and finished first place.
That same year, she joined the swimming CCA. Initially reluctant, she did it to please her mum. It didn’t take long for results to follow. She was selected for the school team, competed in inter-school events around Malaysia, and began winning medals.
Discovering Her Range
A year later, at eight, Hadden discovered she could run. She won her school’s cross-country race, a surprise even to herself. From there, she was placed on the track and field team and encouraged to join football and T-ball as well.
By that age, she was juggling rhythmic gymnastics, swimming, track and field, football and T-ball. Training became a daily routine after school. “I had a great time and always looked forward to it,” she recalled.
Standing Out Early
2019 was a standout year. Hadden was selected for multiple inter-school competitions across Malaysia, racing the 100m, 400m and 800m, doing high jump, swimming, and representing her school in football and T-ball. She won the sprint events, while her school performed strongly across the team sports.
In swimming, she finished first at an international schools meet in Malaysia based on total FINA points – the highest accumulated score for her age group, a record she still holds. Later that year, she competed in Phuket, winning all six of her swim events and taking home the overall trophy.
A Setback and a Change of Pace
In early 2020, Hadden was selected as a Kuala Lumpur state swimmer for national competition. However, the experience didn’t go as planned. “I was too nervous and overwhelmed by the crowd,” she admitted.
Soon after, the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted everything. Her family moved back to Singapore, and with a more demanding academic environment, she was advised to focus on one sport. She chose swimming and continued to medal at the National School Games for Methodist Girls’ Primary.
By the end of Secondary 1 and into Secondary 2, Hadden began to feel stuck. Despite long hours of training, her results plateaued. “It was very frustrating,” she shared. “There were lots of tears.”
After another disappointing swim race around June last year, she sat down with her parents to reassess her path.
Why Triathlon Made Sense
Triathlon wasn’t a leap into the unknown, it was a logical step. Hadden could swim, had proven her running ability through school cross-country, and could cycle recreationally around East Coast Park. There was also a personal connection: her father had often talked about doing a triathlon relay together as a family.
She attended triathlon trials, met the required swim and run timings, and began training across all three disciplines.
Learning the Hard Way
Her first multisport race came quickly and was a tough introduction. Competing at a World Triathlon event in Hong Kong last October, Hadden found herself in a mass swim start in Victoria Harbour.
“When the horn sounded, everyone just charged,” she recalled. “I thought I was attacked from everywhere.” Accustomed to racing alone in a swim lane, the physicality of open-water racing was a shock.
The bike leg was equally challenging. Riding her brother’s old bike without cleats, she focused on simply getting through the course. By the run, she was exhausted. “That race didn’t go well,” she said. “Looking back, I was too ambitious.”
At the time, her mother wondered if she might give up triathlon altogether.
Finding Joy Through Team Racing
Less than a year later, Hadden returned to a World Triathlon race at Kampar, Malaysia – this time in a relay. The experience was entirely different.
She enjoyed the process of racing as a team: planning strategy, supporting one another, and sharing the pressure. Alongside Lim Wanting, Kyan Low and Lim Cheng Yu, the team finished third.
“That race meant a lot to me,” she said. “Less than a year earlier, I nearly quit. Racing with teammates made me feel encouraged and excited about the sport again.”
After Kampar, Hadden went on to represent Singapore at the Asian Youth Games this year. Racing against the region’s top young athletes, the experience offered another level of exposure not just in competition, but in learning how to manage championship environments, pressure, and race dynamics.
It was a valuable step forward as she continued to build confidence and experience on the regional stage.
Why She Keeps Going
What keeps Hadden engaged in triathlon is its unpredictability. Even over the same distance, races vary – weather, tides, terrain, and conditions all change. There’s room for strategy, decision-making, and adaptation.
“The run at the end is definitely a mental game,” she said. “I don’t like it because it’s painful.” But it’s also what draws her back. Triathlon, she believes, is the hardest sport she’s tried not just physically, but mentally, especially with bike management and transitions.
“There’s still so much to learn,” she said. “And as I get older, the distances will get longer. That will be another whole new challenge.”
Being the Youngest on the Team
Being selected for the SEA Games at 15 brings mixed emotions. “Surprised, happy, worried, nervous, scared,” Hadden said. “I do feel it.”
Like many athletes, her long-term dream is to race at the Olympics. In the meantime, she’s taking things one step at a time: building experience, learning the sport, and growing into longer distances.
With a Singaporean mother, a Scottish father from Edinburgh who is a cyclist, and sporting roots that include a footballer grandfather and a county-level swimmer grandmother, sport has always been part of her world.
At 15, Jemma Hadden is only just beginning to understand what triathlon can offer and where it might take her next.
