Raising champions at home makes success that much sweeter

One day, maybe eight years down the road, hopefully just four, when Singapore delivers more than just one swimming champion at the Olympics, when we can savour the sight of a few of our national athletes on the podium, witness the Singapore flag being raised above the rest a few times, and perhaps hear Majulah Singapura being played more than once, we can look back on the morning of Aug 13 as the moment that started it all.

And we will thank Joseph Schooling and his parents, the indefatigable Colin and May, for helping to make all this possible.

I am sure that over the weekend, there were kids and teenagers who took to their swimming, football, sailing or whatever other sport they have lessons in, with a new sense of determination to become the best they can ever be in their sport of choice.

I am certain too that there were parents who, as a result of a butterfly final won in a new Olympic record time of 50.39sec, also decided that hey, maybe life for Junior should not just be about aceing his studies; that since he is doing well in sport, and wants to excel further, he should be given as much support as possible to realise his sporting potential.

And hopefully in eight years, or earlier, the authorities would have come up with a comprehensive plan to allow Singapore’s sporting gifted to train and compete unfettered and uninterrupted in their prime years before eventually serving their national service obligations.

Perhaps, by then, they would have decided that winning an Olympic medal is actually a form of National Service, and allow them to carry on training.

Thank you, Joseph, Colin and May, for helping to bash through the barriers to open these little windows of opportunities in our minds to a new world of possibilities and dreams.

As Joseph, wise beyond his 21 years, said after his race: “I’m not going to lie. The first guy through the door, through the wall is always bloody. I have to take that blow and I’m thankful and I’m blessed that I have the ability to accomplish this.

“I hope this opens a new door, more doors for sports in our country and hopefully I’ve set a precedent for a lot more young guys to come up through.”

Indeed, for far too long now, Singapore sports, Singapore’s local-born athletes and their parents, have not dared to dream so boldly.

But the Schoolings have now shown that such fantastical thoughts of sporting glory are achievable. They just require a lot of hard work and sacrifices from athletes and parents to come to fruition.

We can now also lay to rest a flawed mindset that the way to winning Olympic medals is by bringing in talented athletes from other countries, and spending the same amount — or even more — of energy, time and resources on grooming and developing them before letting them loose on the Olympic stage to contend for honours.

I don’t blame athletes from foreign lands for wanting to take up Singapore citizenship so that they can compete for us. Like all of us, they are seeking a better tomorrow. They would not have had the opportunity to do so in their own countries if they had stayed.

I do blame some national sports associations (NSA) for using that same formula over and over again. There is a reluctance to change because the results achieved have enabled them to receive additional funding from the authorities. It is a vicious cycle.

And even if change is happening, it is slow and gradual, despite the public backlash that erupts regularly and inevitably when sporting success is achieved this way.

People should not be accused of a lack of graciousness and magnanimity when they vent and rant like that. Because success does feel cheap when acquired this way.

These feelings of resentment and anger have been around since the 2008 Beijing Games. And when said athletes leave Singapore once they retire, the feeling is worse.

What is more damaging is that such a route to success perpetuates the myth that local-born athletes are not worth investing in, because they cannot achieve as well.

The Schoolings have destroyed this myth, and this is why many Singaporeans are feeling so euphoric right now. They decided that impossible is nothing, went for broke, made huge sacrifices, and when help or the required level of expertise for young Joseph was not available here, Colin and May still did not give up. Instead, they looked overseas for the best help.

We are also feeling euphoric and hopeful now because locally-trained Quah Zheng Wen’s impressive performances in the 100m and 200m butterfly suggest that we can produce such champions if we have the will and the determination.

The point is, there are no short cuts to success.

The other point is that we can build our own champions if everything is done right — if there is hard work and both athlete and NSA are prepared to work hard together.

And when it happens, the pay-offs are huge for sport and Singapore.

Just look at how proud Joseph made us feel and how his win lifted the country on Saturday morning. Can we really say that the table tennis medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics generated the same sentiments?

Right now, there is a sense of excitement and hope among us because, according to outgoing national swimming head coach Sergio Lopez, a few younger versions of Joseph and Zheng Wen are currently training at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.

Our sailing and shooting officials have also assured us that our sailors and shooters will only get better with multiple Olympic cycles.

Now we can tell ourselves: “Hey, we can get this done ourselves. It’s been proven. We just have to work even harder if we want to be able to realise this Olympic dream over and over and over again.”

Mind you, all this started with a 50.39sec swim, which was the result of years of selfless parental love and sacrifice.

Thank you, Colin, May and Joseph.