To any other spectator watching on, the Olympics stand as a major sporting event where the crème de la crème congregate to vie for the medal of honour. But to an athlete, the honour is already extended from the moment you qualify for an opportunity to compete at the games. And for 23 year-old Quah Jing Wen, who will be making her debut at this year quadrennial international sporting event, the sentiment has never been stronger.
The youngest out of three siblings, who all happen to be national swimmers, Quah grew up watching her sister Quah Ting Wen and brother Quan Zheng Wen participate in year after year of the Olympic Games while pondering when her turn would come. Well that moment has at last arrived; for this year’s esteemed event in Paris , she will be part of the women’s 4 x 100m medley relay team. “I think it’s every athlete’s dream to one day represent their country at the Olympic Games.
At least it was for me,” Quah tells Vogue Singapore. Congratulations on qualifying for this year’s Olympics! What has the training been like leading up to the big event? It’s definitely been a lot of hard work, this has been a long season with back to back competitions and high training volumes. But excitement is definitely running high.
Especially as we start to taper for the rest period before competing (go down in volume and training intensity), everything starts to feel better, faster and stronger. How do you feel right now, mentally? I’m really excited to ge.
