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 We congratulate Mark Leong, (ACS Barker
Road Class of 2014), for bagging a Gold
medal for the Men’s Slalom Waterskiing
event and establishing a National and
Games record. Here, Mark recounts his
preparation and thoughts prior to the games.
“A month before the games, I was
consistently achieving the target score that
my coach, Paul Fong and I had set for the
Men’s Slalom event. My coach told me
that all I have to do to top the event was to
replicate this performance at the Games. I
was confident, but not complacent. Getting
a high score during training is one thing,
trying to achieve that same score in front
of screaming supporters and cameras was
quite another.
The night before the finals, I found it
hard to fall asleep. There was just too much on
my mind. I had made sacrifices - such as
taking the year off from school - for that one
moment the following morning. My heart
was pounding. When I woke up, I told
myself to remain calm, and I only thought
of the positives. On the way to the site, I
had my eyes closed. Not to catch up on my
sleep, but to visualise my ski passes. To me,
visualisation is key.
Right before I got out on the water, the
pressure was at its highest. My fellow
competitor from Indonesia had put up such
a great fight for the top spot that his final
score almost matched my personal best
score in a tournament. I kept telling myself
that the gold medal was still not out of
reach. I just needed to stay focused and
composed. And that I did as I went on to
beat my opponent for the Gold.
I have learnt that no commendable feat
is ever achieved by a single individual.
Without the support from my teammates, my
coaches, my family and friends, I am not
sure if I would have been able to perform
the same way that I did at the 2015 SEA
Games.
Mark Leong
Class of 2014
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In the previous edition of ECHO, we featured two of our
Barker Road teachers, Kenneth Khoo and Joan Anne Lim,
who were representing Singapore in Athletics and Hockey
respectively at the 2015 SEA Games. Here, looking back
on the experiences they had during the Games, they reflect
on what they mean to them now and what they have gained
or learned from them.
The 2015 SEA Games was truly a memorable experience
for me. It was so heartening to see the home crowd coming
together to cheer us on even when we were at our lowest.
Their support brought warmth to me and made me feel so
proud to represent the nation. It also
sends the message that if we continue to
stick together and be united as one, we
will be able to overcome the challenges
we face and carry our country’s flag high
with pride and honour.
