Fast and furious the theme for Goh, as she targets SEA Games glory

Team Singapore heads to the 29th SEA Games later this month with a roster of established athletes, as well as several youngsters who will be looking to make a name for themselves in Kuala Lumpur. TODAY is counting down to the event by profiling some of our stars of the future. Here we focus on short track speed skater Cheyenne Goh.

SINGAPORE – Speed skater Cheyenne Goh has not lived in Singapore since she was eight, and while the teenager has since shed her Singaporean accent after spending a decade in Leduc, Canada, she has certainly not lost her love for its local delicacies.

“I really like the food and that’s what I miss about Singapore…I like chicken rice,” said the 18-year-old, who is a high school senior.

She added, with a chuckle: “Sometimes we try to cook local food here, but to varying degrees of success!

“I definitely missed Singapore a lot when I was younger, and we make sure to go back every year to visit.”

Her Singaporean roots will also see Goh donning national colours at the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur. She will be making her debut at the regional Games with the 12-member Team Singapore ice skaters comprising two figure skaters and 10 short track speed skaters.

With winter sports – figure skating, speed skating and ice hockey – also making their debuts at the SEA Games, the team will be joined by the men’s ice hockey team.

Goh will compete in the ladies 500m and 1,000m, and 3,000m relay, and national head coach Chun Lee-Kyung has tipped her for medal glory in Malaysia.

“Cheyenne has been making significant progress in her techniques, strength and race strategies,” said the South Korean four-time Olympic champion.

“This SEA Games will be her first competition at the South-east Asian level, and it will be a valuable opportunity for her to see where she stands in the region, and to also help set new benchmarks for the sport here.

“Cheyenne was focusing on her studies so she could not spend a lot of time on training. But she has been training full-time in Korea in the lead-up to the Games. I have set a target for her to win medals in her events.”

Goh added: “I’ve raced with quite a few of the skaters from South-east Asia…the ones from Malaysia and Indonesia are quite strong and it’ll be a good competition.

“I’m hopeful that I can bring back a medal. I think I have the best chance in the 500m. That is also probably the most unpredictable event as there can be false starts and falls.

“It is also the one I like the most, as it’s short and quick, and it’s very exciting!”

It was Goh’s love for speed and adrenaline that got her hooked onto the sport. She had initially started in ice hockey as her father had wanted her to try it out, but her interest in speed skating was piqued after she caught the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games on television.

“I was still playing hockey at 13 but I decided to try speed skating. I had always been stronger in skating, and I wasn’t great at puck handling or shooting,” said Goh, who is a fan of National Hockey League team, the Calgary Flames.

“Since skating was always my strongest suit, it was a good transition for me. I like going fast.”

The switch to speed skating subsequently led to Goh earning a spot in the Singapore national short track team last year. She went on to notch a number of firsts in her skating career.

Last October, she became the first local athlete to compete at the Intercontinental Short Track Invitational in Calgary.

Earlier this year, she became the first Singaporean female athlete to compete at the Asian Winter Games and 2017 International Skating Union (ISU) World Short Track Championships.

Goh is also aiming to become the first Singaporean athlete to qualify for the Winter Olympic Games, and she is planning to take a gap year after graduating from Leduc Composite High School this year to train full-time.

She added: “I’m definitely taking next year off, and then I’ll decide if I’m going to go to university.

“The Winter Olympics is every athlete’s biggest dream and I hope to make it there. That’s my long-term goal.”

OTHER SKATERS TO WATCH OUT FOR:

*Lucas Ng (Singapore): Double gold medallist at the South-east Asian Short Track Trophy in January, won three gold at MapleZ SEA Short Track Trophy in Singapore, competed at numerous international competitions including 2017 Asian Winter Games, ISU World Cup and ISU World Championships

*Wong De-Vin (Malaysia): Won two silver medals in the men’s 500m and 1,500m at the South-east Asian Short Track Trophy this year

*Ariff Rasydan Fadzli (Malaysia): Won gold and silver in the men’s 1,000m and 500m at the Melbourne Open in 2015