Do you have what it takes to be an Olympian?
By Justin Kor
In his quest to reach the Olympics, Brandon Ooi knew there was zero room for error as he ripped through the waters of the Bang-Pai reservoir in Pattaya, Thailand. The Asian Canoe Sprint Qualifiers only had one Olympic spot reserved for each race, and he would have to place first in the men’s K1 200m event.
He missed out by 1.6 seconds as a decade-long goal of becoming an Olympian continues to elude him. The kayaker offered a honest self-assessment. “At that moment, it wasn’t good enough to qualify.” he said. While he could endure the agony of burning muscles, the stringent qualification criteria was beyond his control. “It’s the things that we cannot control that’s difficult,” he added.
Others have missed out by closer margins. Had Ooi’s compatriot Stephanie Chen been just 0.203 seconds faster in the women’s K1 200m race, she would have been bound for Japan. Swimming experienced one of the biggest heartbreaks when freestyle sprint specialist Jonathan Tan (in main photo) missed out by 0.1 seconds – a literal blink of an eye.
View this post on Instagram
Qualifying for the Olympics on merit is a considerable feat in itself. Making it to this elite tournament is supremely competitive as hundreds of athletes tussle for limited spots. Most face draining cycles of preparation and qualification campaigns, where their physical prowess and mental fortitude are constantly tested to the limit.
“The Olympic Games are a level of competition that is unrivalled,” said Singapore Sports Institute’s (SSI) head of high performance and athlete life Richard Gordon, who noted that it usually takes eight to 12 years to develop Olympic athletes. “You have to be at your highest peak physically and mentally.”
The disappointment of failure can be crushing. “I’m just glad that I had the three weeks of Stay-Home Notice which did me well to regroup,” said Chen with a laugh. “But it’s hard to say that I’m totally over it.”
Artistic swimmer Debbie Soh knows the feeling. Despite setting three personal bests in the duet event with partner Miya Yong at the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Barcelona, Spain, she also missed out on Tokyo. “It’s been mixed emotions. On one hand, you know you did something good, but there’s more you can do,” she said.
View this post on Instagram
One-Track Mind
It requires an obsessive single-mindedness to become an Olympian. In the four years leading up to Rio 2016, shooter Jasmine Ser’s routine was mainly eat, sleep and shoot. “There was nothing else I wanted to do. Nothing else mattered other than how I can improve my performance,” she said.
The mental pressure was also torturous whenever she missed out on qualifying. “But you have to maintain that self-belief,” she said. On her fourth attempt, she finally succeeded. “All your sweat and hard work has paid off – everything in the past four to five years was worth it.”
There are other ways to reach the Olympics, such as being admitted on wild card placings where slots are given to nations whose athletes fail to qualify on merit. But in Project 0812, former shooter Lee Wung Yew once described the system as ‘charity’. “It’s like the organisers saying ‘oh you poor thing, I’ll give you this consolation prize to be at the Olympics,” he said.
View this post on Instagram
A solo mission backed by a team effort
While qualifying for the Olympics is largely an individual pursuit, it takes a team effort to reach it. Alongside coaches, athletes are also backed by SSI High Performance department, which focuses on the likes of sports medicine, nutrition and biomechanics.
“What we’re trying to do is wrap our services around the athletes and coaches,” said Gordon. “Olympic performances don’t come out of nowhere. They take a lot of time to prepare… it takes a lot of expertise from the coach and sports scientists to get to that point.”
It also requires a whole load of technology to fine tune performances of Olympic standards. For instance, SSI uses sophisticated devices such as sensors, pressure gauges and video analysis software to break down techniques into specific segments. “It’s trying to get this balance between components to ensure they work together in sync,” he explained. For instance, as diving requires a lot of twisting and rotating, there is a huge emphasis in biomechanics.
There is also the periodisation programme, which aims to have an athlete hit optimal performance at the right time when Olympic qualification events roll in. “Many factors go into making the complete performance,” said Gordon. “You’ve got to be prepared on the right day, at the right time – that’s the critical part.”
The quest continues for those who have not made it. Already, Soh is setting her sights on Paris 2024. “The chances are high – now we know what we have to work on more,” she said.
Main photo: Singapore Swimming Association
