PHNOM PENH – National distance runner Soh Rui Yong’s reputation precedes him. Owing to his civil lawsuits and social media posts, some see him as assured and outspoken, while others decry what they feel is arrogance and overconfidence.
And as the 31-year-old returns to the national fold at the Cambodia SEA Games on Tuesday after a six-year hiatus, it is a measured and circumspect Soh who turns up for the interview with The Straits Times.
Instead of the marathon, in which he won two golds in 2015 and 2017, he will take to the track in the 5,000m and 10,000m on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.
“I will be happy to medal,” said Soh, who admitted that he is using the Games as a “good reintroduction to everything” as he eyes a return to the marathon in Thailand in 2025.
Soh was not selected for the SEA Games in 2019 and 2022 after several clashes with the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC). The law student is now back in action after his appeal was approved by a special appeals committee in late March.
The national record holder in four events – the 5,000m and 10,000m, half-marathon and marathon – is not competing in the marathon as he did not race in one in 2022 and hence did not meet the qualifying mark.
In an earlier interview, Soh told ST: “Compared to before, the length of preparation I have had and the events that I am competing in is different. The marathon and the 5,000 and 10,000 events require very different skills... Even physiologically it is so different. It is like saying to Shanti Pereira (Singapore’s top sprinter) to go and run the 800m race and that she should win gold.
“I will say that it’s unlikely that I can get a medal so I wouldn’t say I am targeting at least a medal.”
Soh has never run the 10,000m at the SEA Games while his best finish in the 5,000m was fifth at the 2017 Games.
But do not count him out just yet, for Soh noted that he is entering the Games as a better runner than he was in 2017.
In June 2022, he clocked his 10,000m national record of 31min 12.05sec in the England Athletics’ Championships. Two months later, he finished a 5,000m race at the Wimbledon Park Athletics Track in 14:59.23. At the last SEA Games, both 10,000m and 5,000m golds were won by Vietnam’s Nguyen Van Lai in 32:17.34 and 16:34.10.
Soh said: “Being able to run away from that constant cycle of SEA Games to Asian Games to SEA Games gave me the space I needed to develop at my own rate. My times now are a lot better and I’m enjoying the sport more than ever and I am able to look beyond the medals and records.”
Soh has been trying to make up for lost time after his late inclusion. After returning to Singapore in March, he trained daily and added track interval sessions on Mondays and Thursdays, while logging 22km on Sundays – clocking about 115km in a week.
This is on top of preparing for his virtual examinations in late April and May.
The runner is also ready to put the past behind him.
From 2018 to 2022, he was embroiled in a public spat with fellow marathoner Ashley Liew after disputing the latter’s act of sportsmanship at the 2015 SEA Games.
The case went to court and Soh lost the defamation suit and subsequent appeal and was ordered to pay $180,000 to Liew.
When asked what he has learnt from this “very expensive lesson”, Soh said: “I learnt that you can disagree and you can point out wrongdoing, but when you do so, in a way that people lose face or people feel the need to defend themselves, then nobody looks good.”
He revealed that he has paid close to $320,000 – which included legal fees – to Liew, with almost $100,000 raised with help from his family, friends and crowdfunding.
He is “eternally grateful” to them and added: “I run for my family and friends, and the people who have seen me through this tough period. I am motivated by the people who have supported me.”
