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Swimmers, sailors among athletes confirmed for Race to Rio scheme

SINGAPORE — The race to Rio is heating up for Team Singapore with six months to the Olympic Games, and swimmer Quah Ting Wen, sailors Justin Liu and Denise Lim, and fencer Wang Wenying are among the group of athletes set to receive a boost from the Government as they chase their dream of Olympic glory in Brazil in August.

Singaporean fencer Wang Wenying is among several athletes set to receive a boost from the Government as they chase their dream of Olympic glory. TODAY file photo

Singaporean fencer Wang Wenying is among several athletes set to receive a boost from the Government as they chase their dream of Olympic glory. TODAY file photo

SINGAPORE — The race to Rio is heating up for Team Singapore with six months to the Olympic Games, and swimmer Quah Ting Wen, sailors Justin Liu and Denise Lim, and fencer Wang Wenying are among the group of athletes set to receive a boost from the Government as they chase their dream of Olympic glory in Brazil in August.

The four national athletes are among the initial group who have been selected for the Race to Rio 2016 programme, a scheme started by sports authorities to fund athletes who have qualified, or are attempting to qualify, for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

A first-of-its-kind for both able-bodied and para athletes, the scheme is only available to athletes who are not under the spexScholarship, which provides talented athletes with an enhanced level of support.

TODAY has learnt that the selected group consists of more than 10 athletes from athletics, badminton, fencing, shooting, swimming, and sailing, while less than five para athletes from athletics, archery and sailing have earned the nod.

Selected athletes will be able to tap on the multi-million dollar fund for expenses such as the hiring of sparring partners and coaches, local and overseas training camps, and equipment. They will also receive monetary grants and sports science support from the Singapore Sports Institute.

National fencer Wang estimates that her Olympic dream will cost over S$30,000 as the 35-year-old travels to Cuba, South Korea and China ahead of the Asian Zone Olympic qualifiers in April.

“If not for the funding, I would not have as good a preparation to realise my Olympic dream,” said SEA Games champion Wang, who is aiming to become the first local fencer to qualify for the Olympics.

“My coach and I are happy with my progress so far. There is a good chance I can make it to (the) top three at the April’s Asian Zone qualifiers in Wuxi, China, to qualify for the Olympics. I am going to work very hard to not let down the people who have put their faith in me.”

National para sailor Jovin Tan —who will compete in the skud 18 with Desiree Lim — also welcomed news of his selection. “I am working full-time, and I really appreciate that I will be compensated for loss of wages of about S$2,500 for the months that I am taking no-pay leave, as I was initially worried about that,” said the 29-year-old, who works as an executive assistant at Chapman Consulting Group.

“I was notified last week to submit my funding requests under this Race to Rio scheme, and I requested funding for a two-month overseas trip to the Netherlands in May, and for equipment costs.

“This is a very good scheme for para-athletes because if you want to talk about inclusiveness, whatever the able-bodied athletes are getting, we should be getting the same, too. I can now better concentrate on just training hard for the Paralympics.”

Singapore Sailing Federation president Benedict Tan stressed that the scheme is crucial to help Team Singapore’s athletes attain success at the Olympics and Paralympics.

“We have to realise that the Olympics and Paralympics are the pinnacle of every sport, and being at the top, it is of course very competitive,” he said.

“To put up a credible performance, the athletes need to have adequate and very robust preparations.

“Race to Rio is a funding platform that is an overlay of all the existing mechanisms we have, such as the spexScholarship scheme, and the national sports associations basically act as gatekeepers to make sure that only those deserving come under this scheme.”

With Olympic qualifying still underway for some sports, a total of 13 athletes have qualified for the Olympic Games in athletics, swimming, shooting and sailing so far, while nine athletes have qualified for the Paralympic Games. ADELENE WONG

Who’s in the Race to Rio scheme (selected names):

Wang Wenying (fencing), Teo Shun Xie (shooting), Quah Ting Wen, Quah Jing Wen, Lionel Khoo, Pang Sheng Jun (swimming), Neo Jie Shi (athletics), Justin Liu and Denise Lim (sailing), Jovin Tan and Desiree Lim (para sailing)

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