Sports School diver aces IB exams, perseveres through injury and missed opportunities
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Yim Shek Yen scored 43 out of a possible 45 points for the IB exams.
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF YIM SHEK YEN, ATLAS PHOTOGRAPHY
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SINGAPORE - While preparing for his first international diving competition in late 2022, Singapore Sports School student Yim Shek Yen, 18, faced his first hurdle.
After executing a dive from a 10m platform, Shek Yen felt dizzy and could not hear clearly with his left ear. His worst fears were realised when he learnt that he had perforated his eardrum.
“Because it was the first time (it happened), I had no idea what was going on, and I was extremely scared that I had just lost my hearing,” he said, adding that the injury immediately eliminated his chances of representing Singapore on the global stage.
Shek Yen, a member of the national Diving Training Squad, was dealt another blow when the doctor who treated him said he would need time to recover.
Still hurting from missing his chance to compete in Montreal, Canada, Shek Yen had to grapple with the reality that he would not be able to train or enter the pool for three months.
“I was sad, as that was going to be my first major competition. But spending time with my family helped to take my mind off it, as it was nearing the school holidays.”
His younger sister is 16 years old and both his parents are anaesthesiologists.
Fate would test Shek Yen once again when he was preparing for his next international competition in early 2024. Although the symptoms were milder, he knew immediately that he had perforated the same eardrum when he came out of the pool after diving practice.
“It wasn’t as bad as the first time, but I was just feeling super frustrated because I was finally going to compete again.”
But he handled things better the second time round.
Instead of wallowing in self-pity, he decided to use the downtime of three months to focus on his workload for the International Baccalaureate (IB).
He was among the 30 student-athletes from the Singapore Sports School who sat the IB diploma exams in November 2024.
“I took the setback as an opportunity to give myself a different goal during those three months when I could not train and compete,” said Shek Yen.
Singapore Sports School student Yim Shek Yen’s left eardrum had been perforated twice.
PHOTO: ATLAS PHOTOGRAPHY
He focused on completing his extended essays and research projects, which made up almost 30 per cent of the IB grade.
His efforts paid off when he scored 43 out of a possible 45 points for the IB.
Training after a three-month hiatus was a challenge, but Shek Yen managed to achieve a personal best score when he took part in the Singapore National Diving Competition in September 2024.
“The problem with injuries, especially in a sport like diving, is that once you don’t train for three months, you have to spend even more time to get back to where you were,” he said.
Shek Yen hopes to further his studies in university, but is uncertain whether pursuing a professional career in the sport he loves – after completing his two-year national service starting in January 2025 – will be feasible.
“After a three-month break, I definitely felt my standards drop. If I am unable to dive for two years, realistically speaking, I’ll be super bad at it. But I’ll try to find means and ways to train, and go with the flow first.”
