Singaporean rower Saiyidah Aisyah qualifies for Paris Olympics 2024

SINGAPORE – As Singaporean rower Saiyidah Aisyah emerged from her boat on April 21, the biggest day of her Olympic qualification campaign, she could not help but feel upset about how her race had gone.

Nerves got the better of her on Tangeum Lake in Chungju, South Korea, where the Asian and Oceanian Olympic Qualification Regatta was taking place.

She finished sixth in the A final of the women’s single sculls in 7min 59.06sec, just shy of a top-five spot needed to seal a place at the July 26-Aug 11 Paris Games.

But as she headed for the shower, her coach Alan Bennett stopped her, telling her to go to the grandstand instead as she had qualified for the Olympics.

Within half an hour, her disappointment turned into disbelief as she received confirmation that she was heading for her second Games.

The 36-year-old had been bumped up to fifth after Japan’s Shiho Yonekawa, who clocked 7min 35.93sec to finish second in the 2,000m race, was not awarded a quota spot.

The rules stipulate that Japan’s maximum of two Olympic berths from this regatta will go to her compatriots, who won the lightweight men’s and women’s double sculls.

Aisyah said: “I’m trying to embrace the moment. If I didn’t make that decision (make a push for her second Olympics) four months ago, I wouldn’t even be here.

“I’m trying to see it in that perspective – even though it wasn’t my best performance or I didn’t come in the top five, I have to learn to be more grateful, and be kind to myself and my achievements.

“I’m just trying to sit with that feeling of being excited, I can’t believe it’s been four months since I went on this journey.”

Aisyah, who won a SEA Games gold medal in 2013, is among several national athletes who have made the cut for the Paris Olympics.

On April 20, kayaker Stephenie Chen had earned Singapore a spot at the quadrennial event.

The Republic will also be represented in swimming (Jonathan Tan, Letitia Sim, Levenia Sim, Quah Ting Wen and Quah Jing Wen), athletics (Shanti Pereira), sailing (Maximilian Maeder and Ryan Lo), equestrian (Caroline Chew) and fencing (Amita Berthier).

After becoming the first Singaporean rower to feature at the Olympics in 2016, Aisyah took an indefinite break from competition in late 2017.

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But she began toying with the idea of making a qualifying bid for the Paris Games in early 2023, before deciding to take the plunge at the end of the year.

Last December, she recorded a tearful video of herself declaring her ambitions to make the 2024 Olympics, marking the start of an intense four months.

She said: “I had been giving myself a lot of excuses so I decided that I would make a declaration to myself.

“The decision that I made was really hard but looking back, it’s crazy how things have fallen into place.”

To prepare for the qualifiers, she moved from Boston, where she was living with her husband Ross Zuckerman, to Sydney for training.

She felt lonely at times, but was grateful for the support from him and those around her.

While there were tough moments, she is also enjoying the experience of going through a second Olympic qualification campaign, expressing gratitude that her “body still can take the pain”.

Before she resumes her Games preparation in Boston, Aisyah is looking forward to being reunited with Zuckerman and enjoying a good steak, a birthday tradition that she missed out on when she turned 36 on April 20.

She added: “I want to go into Paris enjoying the journey and the moment because in Rio, I was just very overwhelmed and stressed that I didn’t really enjoy my whole experience. I’m learning to enjoy the process.”

Meanwhile in Tokyo, national kayaker Lucas Teo missed out on the two Games quota spots on offer at the Asian canoe sprint Olympic qualifiers, after placing eighth in the men’s K1 1,000m final on April 21. The spots went to Uzbekistan and Iran.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.