On the double: S’pore’s Nicole Low to compete in laser run and 5,000m events at SEA Games

SINGAPORE – Since joining the cross-country team at Victoria Junior College a decade ago, Nicole Low has taken part in races of various distances, ranging from 1,500m to the half-marathon.

In December, the 27-year-old will finally make her SEA Games debut, but not just in athletics, after she qualified for both the women’s 5,000m and modern pentathlon events.

She got into modern pentathlon – an Olympic multi-sport contest comprising fencing, swimming, obstacle course racing, laser pistol shooting and running – after being introduced to it in June and decided to give it a try out of curiosity without any expectations.

The running coach will join several other Singaporean athletes who will be representing the country in more than one sport at the Dec 9-20 meet in Thailand.

Gan Ching Hwee and Russel Pang will be taking part in both swimming and open water swimming, while Kathlyn Yeo is competing in both the road cycling and triathlon competitions.

Other athletes who have taken part in more than one sport at the SEA Games include national water polo player Koh Ting Ting, who was a swimmer in the 2009 edition.

On making her SEA Games debut, Low said: “After overcoming many obstacles over the years and having received the boundless support of my friends and family, it truly means a lot to me to have made it this far in my athletic journey.”

Modern pentathlon is making a return to the regional Games after its 2019 debut in the Philippines, where Singapore bagged two bronzes. Low will be taking part in the laser run discipline, which combines running and shooting.

With two events to prepare for, she tries to incorporate shooting practice into her free time and adjust certain sessions to include a run-and-shoot simulation, while maintaining the training load and intensity of her runs.

The main reason for her decision to double up was that her two events did not overlap – the 5,000m race will be held on Dec 13 in Bangkok, followed by the laser run in Pattaya on Dec 17.

She said: “This was a key factor in my decision to take up both as their schedules do not clash. I’ve decided to try for both as this opportunity may not present itself again in future editions.

“I hope to give a good fight and hopefully be in a good position to contest for a podium position.”

Joining Low in Pattaya is Marcus Ong, who clinched the men’s laser bronze at the 2019 SEA Games.

When the sport did not feature in the next two editions of the biennial meet, he turned his focus to running, participating in events like the World Athletics Cross Country Championships and Asia Masters Athletics Championship, in which he claimed the men’s 5,000m (35-39 category) gold in 2023.

But with modern pentathlon back at the SEA Games after six years, he decided to give it another try.

He said: “Since I’m 40 years old, I just want to prove (to) myself... that age doesn’t matter to me and having the ‘you can do it’ mentality, why not just try again?”

Shooting was not his strongest suit when he picked up modern pentathlon in 2019, but he was determined to improve in training, taking up to 300 shots daily.

Six months later, he made his SEA Games debut and surprised himself by clinching the men’s beach laser bronze, which was particularly meaningful after earlier setbacks.

Also a runner by background, Ong had qualified for the men’s 5,000m for the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore, but withdrew due to a hip flexor tear a month before the event.

He said: “There were a lot of ups and downs – all the times that I couldn’t shoot, I gave up hope, but on that day, it proved a point that you shouldn’t have given up, you did your best. I was also having high fever, so I didn’t know what was going to happen.

“For these SEA Games, I’m going in with less expectations and just wanting to do my best.”

Like Low, Ong will also compete in the laser run event.

Two other events will be contested at the modern pentathlon competition in Pattaya – the beach triathle (a shoot-swim-run competition), and the obstacle and laser run.

Obstacle racing is a new addition to the modern pentathlon portfolio, with athletes first taking on the obstacle discipline by navigating a 100m course featuring eight obstacle structures, followed by the laser run discipline.

Obstacle racing is replacing the equestrian component at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics following a series of animal welfare concerns.

Singapore Modern Pentathlon Association president Cassandra Choh believes Ong and Low are medal contenders.

She said: “For Marcus, it’ll be his second time and he’s a bronze medallist from the 2019 SEA Games, so I hope that he can bring us another medal this time.

“Nicole is trying this for the first time – she’s a strong runner, shooting is getting there and, with a very strong run, she’s definitely a medal contender as well, even though she’s new to this sport.”