Making Singapore Proud

Perhaps, if they allowed the sport "Sit on a beach and drink Big Gulp". Perhaps.

Here we are, Singapore.
Hold your head high as you walk out the door.
Despite the bowling lane uproar,
We also had Nicole Tay on the floor.

This blog post goes out as a tribute to our dedicated and talented athletes who represented Singapore in the recently concluded South East Asian Games 2005. T'was a truly amazing feat for Singapore to have scored the highest number of away gold medals, a record to be matched in years to come.

The 42 gold medals that the fine athletes have earned over the past week even surpassed the Straits Time "challenge" of forty golds. It has kept me rooted on the television set for the week, hoping to hear more good news, watching the power and finesse of our athletes. There were the usual performers from our swimmers and sailors. Then there were the surprise wins from Gymnastics, Fencing and the weee-kkkkeeed triathlete.

I'm sure most of you must've heard how our gymnast darling Nicole Tay fell off the balance beam thrice. A terrible waste, especially since she was the favourite to win the event. I grimaced when I saw her tumble off the first time, grazing her back against the beam. She got up there and performed. And fell. And got up. Despite the pain written over her face, she gave her all. This was especially evident when she grabbed the gold in her floor event. It's times like these that I truly salute these athletes. Nicole is just 14. Yet she took things in her stride much like someone older. (Actually, there's another reason I watch gymnastics. Her name's Lee Wen Si. (X Too bad she's attached to Gary Tan.)

In an event that didn't see as much air-time, our girl fencer Ruth also did Singapore proud. Ruth is just one of the many teenagers representing Singapore. There were our sailors; Tao Li, the 15 year old "newbie" in the swimming squad who still held her own in the women's relay event; the 18 year old triathlete; the list goes on.

As I watch their performance in the games and hear of the hits and near-misses, I am at the same time proud and jealous. Proud because, well, proud because even Singapore athletes can kick-ass. What little red dot? We pull our own weight. And jealous because all these stories of greatness make me realise just how ordinary I am. I do not excel at anything in particular. I have never gone beyond representing the school. Even then, we lost. So as they enjoy their moment of triumph, I go about taking my exams, wondering what I should wear tomorrow. I'm sure it must be great, right? To excel at a particular sport you love, to compete in it, to bring honour and glory to Singapore?

Perhaps I romanticise too much. I'm sure they undergo killer training regimes, regimes that would have scared me and left me panting at the sidelines. I'm sure that for every moment of triumphant glory, there are lots more moments of sweat, blood and tears. But wouldn't it be nice? To a be a part, however small, of greatness? Well, I'll keep dreaming, but to Team Singapore I say this: You have done us proud, keep the flag flying high. -Jimmy