Amanda Yap, 15, makes history as first S’pore gymnast to qualify for world c’ships final

SINGAPORE – The past few days have been a whirlwind for Singaporean Amanda Yap as she juggled her exams while making her senior debut at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta.

On Oct 20, the 15-year-old took part in the balance beam qualification and flew back to Singapore the following afternoon for an O-level mathematics Paper 1 exam on Oct 22.

Even as her focus shifted to her exam preparations, the Methodist Girls’ School (Secondary) student kept an anxious eye on the world championship qualification results.

And on Oct 21, she received the good news that she had been hoping for.

Huddled with her family members in her parents’ bedroom at 10pm, there was an outpouring of delight when it was confirmed that she had made the eight-gymnast balance beam final, placing seventh with a score of 13.300.

While her family members shed tears of joy, Amanda was in a daze. She could not believe she had made the final – a historic achievement that no other Singaporean gymnast had reached before.

She said: “It was something that was very unexpected. It’s very overwhelming, I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet...

“In that moment, it felt like one of the better routines that I’ve done so I was quite happy. But I didn’t think it would be good enough to get into the final because there were also a lot of other gymnasts who have much better difficulty and higher scores.”

What followed was a blur, but Amanda remembers savouring the moment with a group call with her friends, before turning off her phone, as it buzzed incessantly, to focus on her exam the next day.

Heading into her first senior world championships, the Secondary 4 student’s priority was just to gain experience. And she never expected to be among the top-eight field in a final featuring Olympic champions and world championship medallists.

China’s Asian champion Zhang Qingying topped the qualifiers with 14.366, while Olympic and world championship medallist Flavia Saraiva of Brazil and European championship medallist Sabrina Maneca-Voinea of Romania were second and third respectively on 13.833.

Other finalists include Canadian world championship medallist Elsabeth Ann Black and Algerian Olympic uneven bars champion Kaylia Nemour, who qualified fourth and eighth respectively.

Amanda’s older sister Emma scored 12.666 to finish 24th while the third Singaporean Emma Goh was 112th on 10.033.

Making the field for the Oct 25 final will mean more travelling for Amanda. She has her maths Paper 2 to take on Oct 24, before she flies to Jakarta that night for the final competition the next day.

The day after the competition, she will fly back as she still has her additional maths Paper 1 and social studies examinations to take early next week.

But the teenager is unfazed by the hectic schedule, as she lives the dream after becoming the sole South-east Asian in the final field.

“After this past performance, it’s shown me that it’s possible to do what I hope to achieve and motivate me to do even better.”

Her performance in Indonesia has also given her a boost ahead of the Dec 9-20 SEA Games in Thailand.

“For the SEA Games, I was really hoping to have a podium finish and gain a gold medal and since beam was my strong suit, I was dreaming of being able to achieve that,” said Amanda, who trains with women’s artistic gymnastics national head coach Gerrit Beltman and national coach Zhang Zhen at Singapore Gymnastics’ National Training Centre.

The balancing act between her studies and her gymnastics pursuits has been challenging, but she is grateful for the support her school has provided.

Singapore Gymnastics performance director Berfin Serdil Ors hailed the achievement as a product of years of work from athletes, coaching teams, her family and others who have supported her.

She said: “This isn’t just any competition – this is the senior world championships, the highest level of the sport outside of the Olympics. And Amanda, in her very first year as a senior, has already made her mark on the world stage.

“Her success is not only a personal triumph but also a powerful message to the wider gymnastics community and young athletes in Singapore that anything is possible.”

Beltman, describing Amanda’s feat as “exceptional” at this stage of her career, emphasised the association’s aim to help gymnasts get used to their new competition environment gradually.

On what he hopes to see from Amanda in the final, he said: “I hope to see an athlete who is self-confident and open to opportunities.

“Any of the eight finalists could win the beam final – the confidence with which you perform is almost always the deciding factor. Amanda has nothing to lose and everything to gain in her position.”

For Amanda, she is hoping to soak in the experience as she competes against the world’s best gymnasts.

She said: “Most of them have also competed in the Olympics and at very high levels, so being able to share the stage with them is really cool. The experience itself will inspire and motivate me to do better.

“Going into the final, I really just hope to do my best. Making the final is already a very big accomplishment and I’m really grateful for that.”