Yeo started competitive swimming at the age of 11 at the Asia-Pacific swim meet held in
Jakarta,
Indonesia in 1990.
Asian Games Yeo competed in four
Asian Games (1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006). In the
1994 Games and the
2002 Games, she won bronze medals in the 100 Butterfly and was the only Singapore swimmer to win a medal at both Games. The
2006 Games was her last international competition.
Southeast Asian Games Yeo swam at eight SEA Games (1991-2003), and currently hold the record of the most gold medals in
SEA Games history with 40 gold medals, surpassing fellow Singaporean swimmer
Patricia Chan's record of 39 gold medals. In
1991, Yeo made her SEA Games debut in Manila as a 12-year-old. She won several silvers and bronzes. In
1993, with the Games held in Singapore, Yeo won nine gold medals, which included 7 individual and 2 relay races. At the Games, she lost only one race: the 400 IM to compatriot
Ooi Yufen May. In
1995, in Chiangmai, Yeo also won the same seven individual races as in 1993, but lost out on the two relays. She was also the only gold medallist in the Singapore swimming squad. In the
1997 SEA Games, Yeo won three gold medals. In the
1999 Games, Yeo won six gold medals, all in
Games Records. She was slated for 12 events, but pulled out of the fourth day of competition, due to a right shoulder injury. The only individual race she lost was the 400 Free, where she managed a bronze, finishing behind
Pilin Tachakittiranan of Thailand and compatriot
Bouvron Mei-Yen Christel. In
2001, Yeo took part in lesser events as compared to previous SEA games. Yeo won three gold medals. In
2003, Yeo won six gold medals, inclusive of two relay golds. This helped the Singapore women's swim team to clinch their first relay success since 1993. In
2005, Yeo participated in her last SEA Games in Manila, the same city where she debuted for SEA Games. Yeo won six golds. In the 100 Butterfly, Yeo also finally finished in under one minute, winning the race in 59.91s.
World record Yeo and her
University of California, Berkeley teammates
Haley Cope,
Staciana Stitts and
Praphalsai Minpraphal broke the 4x50 Medley Relay (Short-course) World record in 2000 with a time of 1:49.23.
Retirement Yeo originally wanted to call it a day after the
2005 SEA Games. But after a splendid performance, she decided to continue till the
2008 Beijing Olympics. This decision saw her swim at the
2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and the
2006 Asian Games. On 30 January 2007, Yeo announced her retirement at a press conference saying she did not have the motivation to go on with another year of training till Beijing, and retired at 28.
National records • 200 m individual medley - 2:16.86, 23 May 2004, 2004 Santa Clara International Swim Meet ==Post-swimming career==