Raffles Institution honours late throws coach Choo Chee Kiong, who built a gym and a generation

SINGAPORE – Throws coach Choo Chee Kiong was the first person who came to Raffles Institution (RI) athletics master Vincent Quek’s mind on April 17, when the school celebrated a historic achievement with a first-ever C Division boys’ championship trophy in track and field.

Nearly sixteen years ago, Choo had come out of retirement to help the RI team, but sadly the veteran coach did not get to witness the winning moment – he died in July 2025 at the age of 77 from a cardiac arrest.

On May 13, at the RI track and field dinner held in the school’s canteen – organised by parents annually to honour the teachers, coaches, athletes and families – over 200 members of the fraternity gathered to pay a special tribute to the late coach who helped shape generations of athletes.

As a respectful silence descended on the canteen, the audience watched a tribute video dedicated to him. Quek also presented the coaches with specially commissioned medals to recognise their hard work and commitment.

Choo’s goddaughter, Ong Siang Ling, received the medal on his behalf, along with a specially made plaque that Quek had intended to present to him ahead of his planned departure in 2027.

In 2010, when the school was searching for a coach for its throws programme, the then 62-year-old Choo returned to coaching and devoted the next 15 years to the team.

Under his guidance, RI throwers amassed an impressive haul of medals across the B and C Division throwing events at the National School Games – they won three B Division titles in 2018, 2023 and 2024. During his tenure, their athletes also broke six National School Games records in discus, shot put and javelin, alongside several national age-group marks.

Many of the athletes he mentored went on to represent Singapore on the regional stage in the Asian Youth Games, Asian City Championships, Asean School Games, and South-east Asia Youth Championships, among others.

Despite the programme’s success, those closest to him said Choo had one unfulfilled dream: Winning the school a C Division boys’ title. After his death in 2025, the student-athletes, teachers and coaches were determined to win it in his honour.

Admitting that the victory on April 17 was deeply emotional for him, the 52-year-old Quek said: “He had been a motivation factor. I felt this urge to win it for him. When we actually won the title, (the first thing on my mind) was, ‘Okay, Mr Choo, we’ve done it. We got it at last.’”

Many of the older student-athletes who had been coached by Choo also told Quek that “whenever they stand on the podium, they always feel that Mr Choo is there (with them)”.

Originally from Pahang, Malaysia, Choo was a gymnast in his youth before joining Teck Whye Secondary School in 1976 as a physical education and mathematics teacher. He was also put in charge of the track and field co-curricular activity and despite not having prior experience, he developed into a respected coach through self-learning.

He groomed numerous medal-winning athletes, including 2011 SEA Games shot put silver medallist Wan Lay Chi, before stepping down in 2004.

Ong, 41, who first met Choo during her time at Teck Whye, was neither his student nor a track and field athlete. Yet, through befriending his students, she got to know him better and Choo helped her with her studies for the N and O levels.

The real estate consultant told The Straits Times: “He helped a lot of students. In his students’ eyes, he was a fatherly figure to them, guiding them not just to succeed in sport, but in life. Even up to his last days, students would still seek him out for advice on the problems they faced.”

When Choo joined RI in 2010, he converted a small shed beside the field into a makeshift gym, personally improvising much of the equipment and training set-up so that his athletes would have a place to train.

RI alumnus Jordan Chia, who was Choo’s first student-athlete in 2011 and is now a lawyer, recalled that “he built our entire training ground on his own”. The 27-year-old added: “As a shot putter, he made us build our own ring, digging out excess soil, mixing our own cement. He taught us how to do it on our own, that as long as we have drive, discipline and consistency, we don’t need much else.”

Beyond sport, Choo is also remembered for shaping and caring for his students.

Secondary 3 student Kwa Eu Feng said: “He treated every one of us like his own grandkids, celebrating every success of ours, and motivating us through the tough times.

“His philosophy, ‘Student comes before athlete’, is one that I live by... He cared more about how we developed academically and morally, and always wanted us to be the best version of ourselves, on and off the field.”

Former school thrower Tan Ting Jun, 29, credited Choo for inspiring him to become an educator.

Tan, who is the teacher-in-charge of the Nanyang Girls’ High School athletics team, said: “Mr Choo was my role model. His willingness to mentor and inspire the next generation are the main reasons I took up teaching as a career, so that I could maybe one day inspire others like he did for me.”