Featured Athlete of the Week: Liza Ng

HCunite interviewed Liza Ng, the vice captain of the Track & Field Team, to find out more about the story behind her 1st placing in the High Jump event and 6th placing in Long Jump event, as well as the commitment and dedication of her Track team.

1) How did your interest in track & field begin? What ignited your
passion for it?

My reasons for joining Track & Field in Sec 1 were quite boring and
uninspiring. I actually went into it quite clueless about what it
involved, and it was only until much later that I began to enjoy what
I was doing. High jump has been my main event all along, but I also
trained for long jump this year as we were short of long jumpers.

2) How do you prepare for your competitions?

Trainings aside, I sleep more and avoid worrying excessively about the
competition. The longer you think, the less you know what to do.

3) Your results- Gold Medal for High Jump and 6th Placing for Long
Jump- is indeed commendable! How do you balance your academic
commitments, and pursuit for excellence in track?

Thank you! However, there are many athletes whose efforts go unnoticed
because they do not outperform others during competitions. Their
commitment is equally, if not more, deserving of
featured-athlete-of-the-week acknowledgment. What meant more to me
than winning the medal or finishing in 6th position was breaking my
personal bests in both events. It would not have been enough to beat
other competitors if I weren't able to first beat myself.

I won't claim to balance schoolwork and training as I tend to focus
more on one over the other depending on which happens to be of higher
priority at that moment. The rest of the time, I stay sane with a
little help from my friends and teammates.

4) I'm sure your journey thus far must have been a tough one. Were
there any downturns you faced at any point? If so, how did you
overcome it?

I wouldn't really describe my journey thus far as tough, but when I
started out, I was quite demoralised because I was frankly quite
hopeless at high jump—my teammates can testify to that! However, I
have been quite lucky to train under two coaches whom I cannot thank
enough: Mr Pedro, who believed in me when I didn't, and subsequently,
Mr David Woon, who made me believe in myself. Without them and my
teammates, my journey would have taken a very different route.

5) Any words to aspiring athletes out there or to your track & field
teammates and juniors? :)

Be very patient; in the meantime, don't doubt yourself. Train hard so
that there won't be anything to regret at the end. And make sure you
enjoy what you are doing! That is most important.