—Joseph Schooling - Olympic Champion (2016)

Sonya Porter: or as I call her, Simply Phenomenal. Our journey began over a decade ago, and she remains one of the biggest reasons my love for swimming continues to grow. Her coaching style is forged through years of experience - firm yet compassionate, always focused on growth both in and out of the pool. Sonya’s guidance kept us accountable, grounded, and inspired to be our best self. To the world, she’s a superwoman. To me, she’ll always be my rock, mentor, and best friend.

Her depth of experience and ability to bring out the best in every athlete make her the perfect leader for The Inner Champion. Anyone who has the chance to learn from her will come away not just a better swimmer, but a stronger person.

—Nick Mahabir - World Junior #1, Singapore

Sonya is one of the best mindset coaches I have met and I wouldn’t have reached the levels in swimming that I did without her. I started working with Sonya when I was just staring out barely with a junior nationals cut, throughout my time working with her, I made tremendous progress mentally, and she helped me overcome hurdles to become the #1 junior in the world. Sonya has been doing this pretty much her whole life, and I wouldn’t recommend anyone else.

-Levenia Sim - Olympian (Paris 2024)

“Working with Sonya has honestly been one of the most important parts of my swimming career. I met her at World Juniors in 2023, which was my first big international meet, and I was completely overwhelmed. She didn’t hesitate for a second; she helped me settle in, talked me through everything, and made me feel like I actually belonged on that stage. I still remember struggling with my feel for the water after the long flight, and she gave me a couple of small drills and cues that got me feeling connected to the water again. It was such a small moment, but it meant a lot at the time.

What really stayed with me, though, was how much she cared outside of just the swimming. She always checked in, even on the days when I didn’t want to talk about anything. She supported me through the frustrating stretches when I felt stuck, and she helped me learn how to manage my headspace better, not just for races, but for training and even life outside the pool.

Qualifying for the Paris Olympics was my dream for so many years, and she played a huge part in helping me get there. It wasn’t only the technical work or the sets; it was the way she helped me stay calm, trust myself, and keep showing up and trying again even when things were tough. She was there for all of it.

I’m really grateful for everything she’s done for me. She’s had a big impact on who I am as an athlete and as a person, and I know other swimmers will feel the same when they work with her.”

-Jonathan Tan - Olympian (Paris 2024)

Aside from Sonya’s vast technical knowledge, her coaching reaches beyond the pool. Whether it was riding the momentum of a good swim or reminding me that I was bigger than a bad one, she consistently grounded me in perspective. She taught me that there is no single track to improvement and progress can take many forms. As long as I believed in the process and committed to the work, she made me feel capable of growing every day, not just as an athlete, but as a person. I would not have gotten this far without her.

—Teong Tzen Wei - Asian and Commonwealth Games Medalist, Singapore

From winning nationals to standing in multiple World Championship finals, Sonya has been a crucial part of my swimming journey. Her experience, intuition, and character make her one of the best performance coaches I know.

 She has a unique ability to bring the best out of people. Her approach is never one-size-fits-all. With me, she always reminded me of who I am, what I’m capable of, and how far I can go when I fully commit to something.

 At the start of 2025, I had a fractured shoulder and a severe ankle sprain. World Championships qualification was only two months away, and I needed to drop more than half a second. Sonya sat me down and shared a story about the power of the mind — how we can shape our results when we focus with intention and belief. Two months later, I hit the A-cut for World Championships.

 This is just one of the many times Sonya has guided me, grounded me, and helped me perform when it mattered most.

—Mikkel Lee, Singapore National Record Holder, Sea Games Gold Medalist

Sonya believed in me before I even believed in myself. Before one of my best swims to date - 21.99 at the Berlin Open, I had a bad swim and was losing confidence greatly. Expecting people to ask me “What happened in the swim?” or even “What went wrong?”, all Sonya did was send me a text message saying “You ok?”.

That moment meant everything to me. Sonya cared about me as a person first. Knowing that I would already be disappointed in my swim and that there was no point reliving the bad moments, she helped me to redirect my focus to building confidence and belief for the next two days of racing. We jumped on a phone call despite being in different continents, and she reminded me that one bad swim doesn’t make me a bad swimmer, to take the rest of the night before bed to visualize the great races that I’ve had in the past, the great practices I’ve had, reliving those good moments.

This episode didn’t just teach me about swimming, it taught me about life. Everyone has days when things don’t go our way, when we stumble or even when doubts creep in. But what truly matters in it all is how we respond, turning negative energy into positive energy that helps us reach our goals. It’s about holding onto the belief that there is always light at the end of the tunnel and tough times don’t last forever. Every setback is an opportunity to learn, grow and comeback even stronger.

As the song Tubthumping says “I get knocked down, but I get up again - you’re never going to keep me down.”. That line sums it up perfectly. I’m so thankful and lucky to have Sonya as a mentor throughout my swimming career to guide me through times like this, helping me become not only a better swimmer but a better person, ready to take on whatever life has to offer.

—Mark Randall - South Africa / University of Alabama - All American (Swimmer / Coach)

I have had the privilege of knowing Sonya as an athlete and a coach for the last 20 years. She helped me to understand the sport of swimming from a perspective of learning how to let things flow naturally and not to force the outcome, but rather to focus on the details that will ultimately lead you to be the best that you can be. She taught me to understand myself and how I needed to best prepare for competition. Sonya always went the extra mile for her athletes to make sure that they were in the best position to be successful. The same can be said as she has moved in the role of mentor. She is always willing to answer questions and discuss topics at length until you have a greater understanding of a topic. She challenges you to think critically and asks you questions that will ultimately help all the puzzle pieces to fit. I will always be grateful for the time that Sonya always took with everyone that she came into contact with and helping me to really understand how the mind and body ultimately need to work together to get your peak performance.

May Schooling - Mother, Joseph Schooling.

As a parent, one will  always hope your child finds a coach who truly   understands and see them — and for Joseph, that was Sonya. She believed in him from the start, guiding him with equal parts strength and heart.

 Sonya didn’t just teach swimming; she taught resilience, focus, and belief. We watched Joseph grow into himself under her care — not just as an athlete, but as a person. She treated every child like her own and every parent like family. We’ll always be grateful for the impact she’s had on Joseph’s life.

Lili Thng - Parent

My name is Lili, and my daughters, Letitia and Levenia, have been swimming under Sonya's coaching for the past years. We first met Sonya through Singapore Aquatics and from the beginning, we were impressed by her professional yet approachable style.

Over the course of the season, my daughters have developed not only technical skills but also the passion for swimming. Sonya really emphasizes managing stress, staying disciplined, and being resilient, which has helped my girls build more confidence both in and out the pool. My girls' performance skills have improved dramatically, and they have become a more confident swimmer as a result.

-Andrea Tan - Parent

Sonya’s passion and dedication for swimming is truly inspiring. Besides building strong swimmers, she builds confidence, character and we are grateful for all that she has done for our son, Jonathan. Her ability to motivate and support Jon during good and bad times, had pushed him to become a better version of himself as a swimmer and a student. Sonya’s training goes beyond the pool and technical expertise, she had instilled resilience and a belief that progress is possible with hard work and mindset, both in and out of the pool.

Sonya, we deeply appreciate your exceptional energy and guidance all these years. Your constant assurance and reminder for us parents to take a back seat and enjoy the ‘ride’ alongside Jon’s swimming journey is amazing. We wouldn’t have done it without you!