ALUMNI | LUMEN
19 and sailing was not easy as both demanded much time and commitment .
One of the most surprising things that we found out about him was that there was never a time when he felt like giving up . “ Not that everything was smooth sailing for me , but ships aren ’ t built to stay in the harbour ,” Jeremiah opined . So no matter how tough the going was at times , he persevered and pushed on . His biggest lesson from sailing : “ Having to deal with these variables ( weather changes ) while racing has taught me to accept change and be able to adapt to it and be versatile in everything I do . There are significant similarities between sailing and life itself . Change is a constant and one has to adapt and adjust all the time .”
What inspires Jeremiah ? His younger brother . Jeremiah ’ s brother , who loves sailing as much as he does , met with an accident in late 2011 which had initially left him paralysed from waist down . Within 3 months he recovered enough to be able to move about without a wheelchair , and 2 months after he got back in a boat and won the National Inter-School Regatta . He continued sailing and training hard even though his legs were still partially impaired . About two years later , he was crowned the International Sailing Federation Youth World Champion and managed to clinch a Bronze at the Asian Games as well . Jeremiah ’ s brother is a constant reminder to him that anything can be done if he puts his heart and soul to it , and that he should never give up .
Another of SJI ’ s finest is Luke Yap Keat Howe from the Class of 2006 . He took part in the canoeing
Facing page ( left ): Gregory performing his best on the bars
Facing page ( top ): Singapore ’ s double diving wonders : Mark and Timothy
This page ( top ): Jeremiah ( on the left ) feeling triumphant .
This page ( centre ): Luke Yap ( in front ) with his canoeing partner in Moscow , Russia .
This page ( right ): Equestrian Su-Yen doing our nation proud
Men ’ s K4 1000M Finals and finished 4th out of 6 with a time of 3:12:087 . He first started canoeing when he took it up as his Co- Curricular Activity ( CCA ) in Secondary 1 and fell in love with the sport . Canoeing was not Luke ’ s first choice of CCA , but because he was considered strong for his age , the canoeing teacher-in-charge at that time , Mr Bernard Teo , persuaded him to join canoeing . He then joined the national team while studying in National Junior College ( NJC ).
However , his journey into the national team was not exceptionally smooth sailing . Having entered NJC through direct school admission ( DSA ), he decided to try for the national team selection after three months of training but did not meet the required standard . However , he did not let his disappointment deter him from competing and went on to win a Bronze and a Silver medal at the National Inter-School Competition , losing only to national team members . National coach Balazs Babella then encouraged him to try again in the upcoming national team selection . Spurred on by the desire to make the cut , Luke pushed himself harder than ever and finally gained success . He made it into the national team in July 2009 , during his first year of junior college . The 2015 SEA games ,
especially since it was on home ground , was definitely a highlight in his canoeing career . Describing it as “ magical ”, Luke also mentioned that the atmosphere and home crowd support was unlike any other he had experienced before . He also came to a realisation then that all the sacrifices he had made were worth it .
SJI , however , has not only produced outstanding athletes in the water . Their land-based counterpart has just as demanding a vehicle to command - though hers happens to be a living , breathing equine .
Always choose something you ’ re genuinely interested in ... do your best to be adventurous and try things that you ’ d find a passion for ...
Cheong Su-Yen , who graduated in 2014 from SJI Senior School , took part in the Equestrian Show Jumping Team Finals and the Individual Jumping Competition in the recent SEA Games . She finished first out of six nations in the former event and scored zero total faults to be ranked joint-first out of 21 for the latter . She was a mere 8-year-old girl when she first started riding . Her interest was sparked when she found herself enjoying a pony ride at her friend ’ s birthday party .
Although she has been competing seriously for a few years now , she views riding as more of a hobby than as a career . Being rather petite is one of the challenges she faces when working with the bigger , stronger horses that are needed to compete at a higher level . However , this only spurs her on to try even harder , making the results more satisfying .
The key things this sport has taught her are perseverance and empathy . Perseverance is key as an equestrian , as it is in any sport . There are times when faced with hurdle after hurdle , where every mistake undermines confidence that one has to learn to never give up , no matter how great the obstacle . Su-Yen also voiced that it is impossible to ride well without empathy , as good partnership and effective communication between rider and horse is crucial in every competition .
Perhaps through Su-Yen ’ s words : “ Always choose something you ’ re genuinely interested in , especially if you ’ re in SJI Senior School where you can join as many CAS groups as you can handle . Also , do your best to be adventurous and try things that you might not originally have thought you ’ d find a passion for .", one can understand where her love for her sport stems from .