ONCE UPON A MEMORY
ON THE
RACE TO THE FINISH
W
hen she first tried competitive swimming at 17 in junior college, she couldn’t swim 200m without stopping to catch her breath. Over a decade later, Ms Ethel Lin has not only improved her lap times but also made waves as a national triathlete. She was introduced to the sport as a Law undergraduate in NUS in 2007. “I like both long-distance swimming and running so a triathlon seemed like the natural thing to do, and was what I thought I’d do well in.” Then a freshman, Ms Lin signed up for the NUS Aquathlon team after chancing upon its website. From being one of the slowest members, she worked her way to being the team captain in 2008 and winning several NUS Sports Awards in 2009. “The NUS Aquathlon
FA S T TRACK and Recreation Centre
As a freshman, Ms Lin dabbled in handball – and broke a finger in her first competition at the Temasek Hall Inter-Block Games. Although swimming is “a first love”, Ms Lin says: “If I could only do one sport for the rest of my life, it would be running. I love how simple it is and nothing exhilarates me the way an intensive interval session at the track does… I have beautiful memories of quiet morning runs around the Kent Ridge Campus and SRC track.”
(SRC) on campus was the training arena for national athlete Ms Ethel Lin (Law ’10), who was introduced to triathlons in NUS. B Y
P H Y L L I S
H O N G
team is one of the most welcoming communities I have encountered, where everyone feels that they belong, no matter how fast or slow,” she shares. The sports culture in NUS, says Ms Lin, is also conducive for recreational players, students who want to explore new sports and competitive athletes alike. A sporting highlight for her was making the national triathlon team in 2010 and representing
Singapore at SEA Games 2015. “I had been trying throughout my years in NUS but only made the team after graduation,” she says. Although she ultimately dropped out of the triathlon event at the SEA Games due to heat exhaustion — and subsequently missed the 5,000m and 10,000m events that she had qualified for — the episode has only served to spur her on. She recently won the women’s category of the
H O M E A W AY F R O M H O M E Besides the NUS Aquathlon team, Ms Lin was a member of the NUS Cross Country and Swimming teams. A resident of Temasek Hall during all of her four years in NUS, she also participated in the annual Inter-Block and Inter-Hall Games. “It almost feels like I spent more time in the SRC than in lectures. Most of the lifeguards knew me by name,” she recalls.
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R U N A W AY FA V O U R I T E
The former Sports
Singapore International Triathlon 2017 in September, earning herself a nomination slot for the Commonwealth Games 2018. She also has her sights set for the 2019 SEA Games. The challenge of putting in the hours on the track and pool despite having a day job is not unfamiliar to Ms Lin, who used to juggle between training MAIN PHOTOS BY WONG WEI LIANG
One of Ms Lin’s favourite races was the Inter-Varsity Aquathlon held on the NUS campus in her final year. Despite suffering from injuries and not performing well at earlier races, she pushed herself and came in first. “It was a special race. It was not just my last for a team that had helped me grow so much — it was also my last time racing for NUS,” she says.
MS ETHEL LIN, 31, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AT COMPETITION COMMISSION SINGAPORE
YUSOF ISHAK HOUSE
and studies. She is thankful for the supportive team in NUS — coaches, seniors and teammates — as well as the convenient access to facilities such as the pool and gym. While Ms Lin feels nostalgic about the SRC, she finds the new University Sports Centre impressive and believes that current and future NUS students will create great memories there. “We used to have to stop training during wet weather but the lucky young ones won’t have this problem now with the indoor pool,” she says. Ms Lin fondly remembers celebrating team members’ birthdays by the pool as well as heading to the Subway sandwich outlet at Yusof Ishak House (YIH) after training. Her teammates were also her study buddies during the examination period, when they would revise at YIH’s study rooms as well as the Central Library.
LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
The new three-storey University Sports Centre (USC) was completed in July 2017. It replaces the Sports and Recreation Centre (SRC), which was demolished in 2015. A sprawling complex that spans over 9,000sqm — about 100 HDB 4-room flats — USC offers a wide range of facilities that cater to both competitive and recreational sporting activities. Location: 2 Sports Drive 1
2
OLYMPICSIZED POOLS – ONE OUTDOOR AND ONE INDOOR 1 TRAINING POOL
1
4
SQUASH COURTS
FITNESS AND CONDITIONING LAB
A MULTI-PURPOSE MEZZANINE FOR ACTIVITIES LIKE FENCING AND DANCING
The building also received the Green Mark Platinum Award 2015 by Building and Construction Authority. Features include a dual cooling mode sports hall that optimises ventilation, high-efficiency lights and the use of sustainable building materials such as eco-friendly cement and recycled concrete. GREEN EFFORTS TRANSLATE TO… ESTIMATED ENERGY SAVINGS OF
32%
ESTIMATED WATER SAVINGS OF
39% O C T- D E C 2 0 1 7
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